Revenge in Camelot
by Evelyn Hawkins
Summary: Sequel to "The Assassin of Camelot"-Merlin is fighting with destiny and love to begin with, but when the dangerous league of assassins come to Camelot searching for enigmatic and elusive Mortis, will there be anything left for him to fight for?
1. Chapter 1

Revenge Revisited

Chapter 1—Prime

Arthur stalks seriously down the corridor with Sir Leon at his right and Gaius at his left, both speaking to him fervently about two separate issues.

"Lady Helene is complaining of all the symptoms, Sire," Gaius says rapidly. "An epidemic may be futile, but it would not be good for the workers in the lower town—"

"There has been no sign of Kellan anywhere, Sire," Leon says. "It's as if he didn't exist at all. But regardless, there have been reports of—"

"Arthur!"

Arthur shudders and stops midstride at the shrill sound of Merlin from down the corridor.

"Arthur!" Merlin cries again, grinning as he nearly skips toward his king. "Arthur—I found it!"

Arthur turns to face Merlin who skids to a stop before him. "I found it Arthur," Merlin says grinning and holding out a wrapped up belt before him. "I found it just in between your wardrobe and your bed."

Arthur looks from Merlin's face to the belt. Merlin has been looking for that belt for over a week—Arthur's favorite sword belt.

"You interrupted me," Arthur says slowly with his arms crossed over his chest. "Interrupted information about the trouble in the kingdom…to tell me you found my _belt_."

Merlin blinks and nods several times. "Yeah," he says simply. "You see, I thought we had left it in your saddle bag when we went on that hunting trip a while back, but when I checked all the bags it wasn't there. So I went to the…throne room…"  
>Merlin pauses and stops when he sees Arthur's seething look. He closes his lips and blinks.<p>

"I'll just, set it in your chambers," Merlin says backing away.

"Good plan," Arthur hisses.

Merlin turns on his heel and stalks in the other direction. Arthur smiles a little.

"If you need to appease Lady Helene and keep all away from her to prevent it from spreading to the lower town," Arthur says quickly to Gaius. "In regards to the sorcerer, I'm not surprised he hasn't shown up, but if it means he's in danger, then he should stay hidden. Also, Leon, send some of the new knights to the outside edge of the Darkling Woods and report back to you."

Leon and Gaius nod, smiling. "Yes, sire."

"Now if you'll excuse me," Arthur says as he begins to walk away. "I have to see a man about a belt."

—Lara reaches the end of the empty room with a basket to bring more sheets to the ill Lady Helene. She looks slowly up to the top cabinets where the proper sheets were. Lara sighs and drops the basket.

"Of _course_, the Lady Helene needs _special_ sheets," she grumbles to herself as she takes a chair from the other side of the room and sets it before the window sill. "It would be _tragic _if the well-born, prissy, ill-natured _Lady Helene_ were to have _normal_ sheets. That's just too easy."

Lara kicks her shoes off and stands on the back of the chair. She tilts it so she lands on the windowsill with her fingers latched onto the side of a brick. She kicks off of the side of the cabinets and grabs the sheets. She falls to the ground before it, landing on her feet like a cat.

The laundry door opens and Merlin appears. He frowns when he looks at her.

"Lara?" he says seeing her crouched on the ground with sheets in her hand. "Why are you on the floor?"

Lara stands quickly and Merlin sees she's not wearing shoes. "I had to get the sheets from the top cabinet," she says putting the sheets into her basket. "It was very difficult."

Merlin laughs. "You got all the way up there?"

"I am a very determined person, Merlin," she says tartly putting her shoes back on. She picks up the basket and turns to leave.

"You could have called someone to help you," Merlin suggests getting a brush and tub from the shelves.

"I'm used to doing things on my own," she says. "I'll see you, Merlin."

She leaves before anymore questions are asked and stalks down the corridor towards Lady Helene's chambers. The Lady is sleeping with her puffy face red at the cheeks and sweating. Lara truly does feel bad she is so sick—but even happier that she's asleep rather than giving her orders.

Lara soaks a cloth into a basin of water and lays it on the Lady's forehead.

"You have clammy fingers."

Lara looks at the Lady's half-open eyes. "I was just dabbing your forehead, milady," Lara says quietly.

"I am thirsty," Lady Helene says. "Get me some water."

"Yes, milady," Lara says standing. "I'll get you something for your throat."

"Haven't you got a remedy from the court physician?" Lady Helen croaks.

"You have a common cold," Lara says as she pours water into a goblet. "It can only be fixed with rest, milady."

"There is nothing _common_ about me, child" The Lady Helene replies incredulously. "It would bode well for you not to associate the name with me, even if it is an illness."  
>Lara sighs and grinds her teeth as she holds the Lady's head up to give her water. There is a soft, gentle knock on the door.<p>

"Do not let anyone in," Lady Helene says darkly, spitting the water back into the goblet.

Lara goes to the door and peeks through the crack.

"Hello, Arthur," she says as she sees the king.

"Lara," Arthur says regarding her with a smile. "How is the Lady Helene?"

Lara makes a face. "She is very ill," Lara says.

"So I've heard," Arthur says with a smile, knowing of Lady Helene's vanity and lack of amiability. His voice goes to a hushed whisper. "I've actually come to speak to you, though."

"Who is it, girl?" Lady Helene screeches with a hoarse voice.

"It is the King, milady," Lara calls back.

"The King?" Lady Helene cries. Arthur's eyes widen at Lara and he shakes his head. "Well, by God's name—let him in!"

Lara smiles and opens the door to allow Arthur to come in. Arthur sighs and plasters on a smile with his hands folded behind his back.

"Lady Helene," Arthur says pleasantly. "I heard you were ill."

"Yes, Sire," Lady Helene says dramatically. "A mere cold, is all."

Lara fights rolling her eyes. "Well, I hope you will be better," he says.

Lady Helene smiles. "Thank you, your majesty," she says.

"Now, if I may take your maidservant from you," Arthur says. "The physician has some medicine to help your cold that he wishes her to deliver."

"Of course," the lady says smiling pleasantly.

Lara nods to her and walks with Arthur out of her chambers. Once the door is shut, Lara sighs.

"Sure, she smiles for _you_," Lara says dryly.

"How can you tolerate it?" Arthur asks with a smile. "You've been raised so nobly then you have to follow the orders of arrogant nobles."  
>Lara looks at Arthur. "There is nothing <em>noble<em> about the way I was raised," she says darkly. Arthur is always surprised when a hint of her dangerous nature appears—especially when she's been so normal for the majority of the time.

"What I mean is," Arthur says slowly, meticulously. "that you could do more than many people here ever could yet you still follow orders."

"I have followed orders my entire life," Lara says darkly. "None of the orders Lady Helene can bestow upon me can be as horrible as the ones I've been given."

Arthur blinks rapidly and looks at her solemnly.

"What did you need to speak to me about?" Lara asks, trying to hide her dark discomfort.

"Several of the new knights are being sent to the Darkling Forest to investigate some strange reports by travelers," Arthur says.

"What kind of reports?"

Arthur makes a face. "Ghosts haunting the woods," he says. He shakes his head. "It's probably just a ruse by bandits, but then…" Arthur looks over his shoulder at Lady Helene's chambers. "Sir Warren and all the men with him went missing. His squire came back and told us that ghosts stole him in the dead of night."

"Then why are you sending new knights to investigate?" she asks uncertainly.

"Because I don't want to raise alarm," Arthur says uncomfortably. "Especially when the issue can be dealt with quietly."

Lara sighs. "I will go as myself to see if any of this is true about ghosts," she says seriously, beginning to turn away. Arthur grabs her arm and once he sees her expression, he regrets it immediately.

"Why aren't you going as Mortis?" he asks. "Surely that would be the best thing to do."

"No," Lara says in a patronizing way. She pulls her arm away from Arthur. "If they truly are bandits then they are more likely to attack a woman with knights than a masked assassin riding with knights. Tell your knights you are escorting me—Lara—to the edge of the Darkling Woods so I may travel safely toward Realydon. They'll attack, capture me, most likely, and I'll see if I can find your Sir Warren alive."

Arthur frowns. "That's so dangerous," he says shaking his head. "It would much safer for you to lead them as Mortis."

"How can your knights be led by a Gorinian assassin who cannot give them any orders?" she says rhetorically. Arthur sighs in defeat.

"Do you ever lose?" he says with a smile.

Lara pats his shoulder. "No, never," she says simply as she walks down the hall to get and orange whose juice she will call "medication".


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2—Captured

Lara puts her blue cloak over her shoulders and ties the drawstrings. She puts her wrapped daggers in Trinidad's saddlebag. The horse nudges his nose in her hand so the paint that covers the white stripe on his nose rubs off on her hand, black and dusty.

"Not today, Trinidad," she says wiping the black from her hand and painting more on the horse's white.

Lara pulls her horse from the stable and pulls him out into the open where five young, fresh-faced knights stand waiting nobly for her. The tallest one is speaking to Arthur.

"Ensure that she stays safe," Arthur says to him. "I do not want any of my subjects hurt by ghosts."

The eager young knight nods seriously. "Yes, Sire."

Arthur looks to Lara and smile. "Lara, this is Sir Lucas," he says gesturing toward the young knight. "He will ensure your safety."

Lara looks at him and smiles, understand the unsaid joke. "Thank you, Your Majesty," she says bowing her head to Arthur. "I appreciate your concern for my well-being, but your knights will keep me safe, certainly."

Arthur smiles and nods. "Safe journey," he says as he begins to walk away.

Merlin comes out of the castle and sees Lara collected with the knights. They begin to walk down the street toward the gates with Lara next to Sir Lucas. He blinks rapidly and looks at Arthur who is approaching him.

"Where is she going?" Merlin asks incredulously.

"Realydon," Arthurs answers with his arms crossed. "She's visiting an old friend."

"Why is she being escorted by the new knights?" Merlin asks. "It would be safer if it were more seasoned knights."

"I was sending them to investigate something for me anyway," Arthur reasons watching Merlin's angry face. "Don't worry, Merlin. She'll be fine."

Arthur pats Merlin's shoulder and walks past him. "I need my chainmail polished for the ceremony tomorrow and—Merlin?"

Merlin is no longer there.

—Lara rides slowly between Sir Lucas and another young knight. She looks straight ahead, smiling lightly, as they near the outside edge of the woods. The knights are also a little on edge.

"Wait!" Sir Lucas says, stopping everyone and raising his hand up.

Lara sighs—there is no one there.

"There's no one here, Sir Lucas," she says making Trinidad go forward. "We're nearly out of the woods and we have not been attacked yet."

Sir Lucas swallows deeply and rides next to Lara. "I don't trust these woods," he says. "I can feel it in my bones."

Lara stops then, Lucas looks at her strangely as she looks forward. "Maybe your bones are right this time, Sir Lucas," she whispers.

Lucas pulls out his sword and then the other knights do. The horses except for Trinidad start and neigh a little in discomfort. Lara must admit—there is a chill in the air.

"Do you hear that?" Lucas hisses.

"There's nothing but silence, Sir Lucas," Lara whispers calmly.

Then an arrow shoots at Sir Lucas and then several other knights. Sur Lucas falls to the ground and his horse runs from his injured rider.

Men in white cloaks run forward—looking like ghosts— with their swords drawn, beginning to fight the knights.

"Lara—run!" Sir Lucas calls. Lara pulls a dagger from her saddle bag. As she does so, a man grabs her wrist firmly and smiles up at her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, milady," he says darkly.

Lara pushes him away and dismounts. Trinidad stands, neighing and kicks down the man that grabbed her. Lara pulls Sir Lucas over her shoulder and pushes him onto Trinidad.

"No!" Sir Lucas cries. His shoulder is bleeding from the arrow.

Lara pulls the arrow sharply from his shoulder, causing him to groan. "Go tell Arthur," she tells him.

Lara smacks Trinidad's hide and the horse runs straight for Camelot. When the horse is out of sight, a sword points at Lara's throat.

"You'll make me a pretty penny," the man says. All the knights are either dying or dead. She appraises this man—she could easily kill him. He favored his left side.

The man gestured toward someone behind Lara. "Bring the other one—he's King Arthur's manservant," he says.

Lara's eyes widen and she pushes the man's blade away from her so she can turn. Merlin is on his knees, his right cheekbone bleeding from a slim cut with another bandit holding a sword at his throat.

"Merlin!" she cries.

"Ah, so you are from the castle," the man says from behind her. "Word has it the King is fond of his worthless manservant."

Lara turns, ignoring his sword pointed at her throat. "No," she says. "Let him go—the King won't pay a ransom for his manservant."

"What about his pretty maid?" the man says.

"The King doesn't care about a maidservant," Lara rebukes sharply.

"He cares enough to have her escorted by knights through the Darkling Woods," he says grinning. He nods to some of his men and they tie Lara's hands behind her back, as well as a very worried Merlin's.

—Lara and Merlin have their hands tied behind a post while the men go about their camp. One man was sent with a ransom note a few minutes ago.

"Who are these men anyway?" Merlin hisses.

"Their slave traders," she says sharply, still angry about the situation.

"How do you know that?" Merlin asks trying to look at her over his shoulder.

"Do you really think they're going to give me back if Arthur were to even consider paying a ransom?" she hisses angrily.

"Why wouldn't they?" Merlin says, taken aback by Lara's anger.

"Women are worth more in the slave market," she says, glaring at the leader whose name they learned is Dorian. "Or at least more than any king is willing to pay for a maidservant."

"You're worth more than that, Lara," Merlin says defensively.

Lara sighs. She knows she is—she's a very powerful weapon. If these slave traders knew who she is then she would be headed for the Isle of the Gorinians already. That's what makes Merlin's abrupt presence more crippling.

"You shouldn't have come," Lara hisses.

"I was worried," Merlin reasons quietly.

"Yes, well now we're in a worse situation than before," she says harshly. "How the hell are we going to get out of this now?"

Merlin chews on his lip—he could very easily use magic to get them out, but that would risk Lara finding out he has magic. Would she hate him if she knew? Then he blinks when he realizes what she said.

"Lara, did you just curse?" he says incredulously.

"Hey!" Lara cries out to the men, ignoring Merlin.

"I don't think I've ever heard you curse before," he says, slightly astounded.

"Hey Dorian!" Lara cries out in a frustrated voice, still ignoring Merlin. Dorian and some of the others look at her with an amused expression. "Yes, you—that's your name isn't it?"

Dorian laughs and the others follow him. "What do you want?"

"I'm thirsty," she says in an obnoxious manner she's adopted from Lady Helene.

"Well that's nice," Dorian says dryly. He bows mockingly. "Do you require a goblet, milady?"

Lara sticks her foot out to trip a passing man; he falls on a tent so it lands over onto Dorian. Dorian curses and pushes himself out from underneath the tent. He pulls out a dagger and kneels by Lara, pressing the blade underneath her jaw. Merlin struggles in his place, but the ropes are tight.

"You're not going to be an easy prisoner, are you?" Dorian hisses into Lara's face.

"I'd be quieter if you brought me some water," she says into his face with sensual eyes. He looks her up and down. "Or if you would stop breathing in my face."  
>Dorian smiles coyly, appraising her still and stands. He turns and Merlin looks at him darkly.<p>

"Get the prisoners some water," he says with a laugh.

As a man leaves to collect from the stream, Dorian turns away, speaking to the other men. Lara moves the dagger she stole from Dorian's belt and begins to cut away at her and Merlin's rope.

"What are you doing?" he hisses.

"When your rope is broken don't move," she whispers. "When I tell you to, run."

"What about you?" he cries. "You should run for Camelot."

"They are more likely to kill you than they are me," Lara hisses.

"I can take care of myself."  
>"They're slave traders, Merlin. They'll show you no mercy even if you are the King's manservant."<p>

"Then why should they show you mercy for being a woman?"

The rope breaks with only a few droplets of Lara's blood. "Merlin, you shouldn't have come anyway," she says. She doesn't him that Sir Lucas was sent to get Arthur because she can't do what she needs to with Merlin there. She has limited time. "These 'ghosts' weren't supposed to be real, either. So our only option is for you to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere without you.

Lara groans at Merlin's excessive persistence.

"Lara, I promise I won't let you die," Merlin says with such husky certainly Lara felt a strange feeling of safety, which was strange for her. She swallows deeply and looks over her shoulder at Merlin.

Her face snaps back over to Dorian and his men. Sir Warren is pulled from the tent and thrown to the floor. He is bleeding excessively from the head and he is shaking more than usual due to his old age. He grips at the dirt and looks up at his captors.

"Sir Warren," Merlin whispers.

Dorian points are Lara and Merlin. "You recognize them?" he barks.

Sir Warren pitifully looks at Lara and Merlin. He slowly nods. "Y-yes," he says quietly with a shaky voice.

"Who are they?" Dorian demands.

"My wife's maid," he says carefully. "And—and King Arthur's manservant."

"So they are in the castle often, yes?" Dorian says.

Sir Warren swallows deeply, dried blood cracks when his throat moved. Dorian picks up the poor retired knight from the floor and throws him on the ground at Lara's feet.

Dorian looks at all three while Lara and Merlin fight the urge to help the man.

"Who is Mortis?" Dorian cries.

Lara's face is stunned. How could Dorian know about Mortis?

"No-no one knows!" Sir Warren stutters. "Not even the king."

"You have seen him," Dorian claims.

"He is always masked," Sir Warren cries pitifully. "Please, I've never seen his face. No one has."

"You'll never find him."

Lara looks sharply over her shoulder at Merlin. His face is certain. Dorian bends down and looks at Merlin's face.

"What makes you say that?" he hisses.

"He is a Gorinian assassin—he won't be found unless he wants to be," Merlin says with certainty.

"I only wish to give him a message," Dorian says with a humored smile.

Lara looks up at Dorian then slowly forward. Bronwyn knows she is in Camelot. He's sent this lowlife to give Mortis a message that Dorian didn't need to say aloud.

Bronwyn is coming.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3—Lambs to the Slaughter

Lara stares forward while she thinks. Sir Warren at her feet falls unconscious from fatigue.

"Useless noble," Dorian groans kicking Sir Warren's side. Lara looks abruptly up at Dorian and locks eyes with him, taking him aback.

"Let us go and I will give Mortis your message," she says sternly.

"Lara," Merlin says with surprise.

"I know who he is and I will give him the message you are being forced to give," she says quickly. "But _only_ if you allow Merlin, Sir Warren and I free."

Dorian leans down so his face is very close to hers. He does not understand the concept of personal space. "How do I know you are not lying?" Dorian hisses into her face.

"His brand is on his right shoulder blade rather than the traditional placement on the back of the right calf," she says quickly. Dorian blinks. "Evidence enough?"

Dorian chuckles. "It seems you have been intimate with Mortis," he says causing Merlin to look over his shoulder. Dorian grabs Lara's chin roughly so she knows his thumb prints will bruise. He looks more deeply into her eyes still. Then a smile curls on his twisted mouth.

"You're lying," he hisses. He pushes Lara away so her head hits the post. "Kill her—send the manservant."

"No!" Merlin cries as a sinister man pulls his sword out.

The man slashes his sword toward Lara but she stands quickly and turns to the other side of the post so the wood splinters.

Merlin stands and grabs the man's arm roughly. He pushes Merlin away. Lara looks as Merlin falls to the ground.

"Merlin—run!" she cries.

But instead, Merlin, seeing the other men draw their swords, eyes hungry on Lara, raises his hand and without even reciting an incantation shoots the men in every direction. He softens when none of the men stir. Even he is surprised by his lack of control. He looks to Lara whose face is stunned.

Then Lara's face settles and she looks sternly down at Sir Warren. She kneels and presses her ear to his heart.

"He's alive," she announces. "But only just."

"Lara, I—" Merlin begins.

"It's okay, Merlin," she says looking up at him. Her expression softens. "It does not change my opinion of you." She didn't want to tell him that she's always known-that she was sent to the crystal caves to see visions of Camelot's castle, of her protecting Merlin and Arthur by the Great Dragon Kilgharrah.

Merlin's face alters. "It doesn't?"

Lara catches his eyes intently, causing him to switch from surprise to seriousness. Lara wonders if she'll ever see him again. Bronwyn is coming—but if he found out she was no longer in Camelot, the kingdom would be left alone. Arthur, Gwyn, Gaius…Merlin would be safe from her curse.

She intends to leave.

Lara and Merlin look to where voices, steel and horses are heard. Arthur and several other knights, swords drawn enter the destroyed camp. They look at the scene—slave traders, scattered and dead all around, Lara sitting over the unconscious Sir Warren, her hands bloody.

"What happened?" Arthur asks directed the question at Merlin.

"Sir Beckett," Lara cries. "He came out of nowhere and killed them all without even drawing his sword."

Leon looks seriously at Arthur who is staring at Lara. Everyone but Arthur bought her lie—and Merlin knew the truth.

Lara looks up at Arthur, unsure of how she is going to lie to the King later.

—Lara dismounts Elyan's horse abruptly in front of her house and turns to go inside.

"Lara," Merlin says. "Where are you going?"

"Home," she says sharply.

Arthur dismounts. "Take Sir Warren to Gaius, Merlin," Arthur commands. Merlin opens his mouth to protest. "Now."

Merlin and the others hesitantly go forward through the town. When they are out of sight, Arthur turns to go into Lara's house. The door is slightly ajar and Lara's figure is visible as she stuffs things into her bag.

"What are you doing?" Arthur asks as he shuts the door behind him.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she says dryly. She opens her wardrobe and moves aside her dresses. She opens the secret door at the bottom of the wardrobe and begins pulling out weapons and potions—some Arthur's never seen before.

"You can't leave," Arthur says incredulously. "What happened in the woods?"

"Merlin didn't show up until after I killed the men," she says. "Sir Warren was already unconscious. His memory will be skewed—they tortured him. It's best not to bother him about the details he won't remember well."

Arthur blinks. "Why didn't you just take their weapons?"

Lara slams whatever is in her hands down onto the table loudly. "Don't you ever get _sick_ of blood, Arthur?" she growls ferociously. She continues to stuff her things into her bag. "Because I do."

She was frustrated that he wouldn't take her lie as easily as normal, but Arthur was still thrown by her current actions. "Then why are you leaving?"  
>Lara pauses, her back to Arthur. She swallows and takes a deep breath. "Those slave traders were sent by Bronwyn," she tells Arthur darkly. Arthur stares at her in horror. "They were sent to give me a message."<p>

Arthur hesitates. "They're coming," he says quietly.

Lara pinches the bridge of her nose quickly and then continues to pack. "Is Trinidad in the stables?" she asks without emotion.

Arthur blinks and goes up to her. He pushes the bag she's holding back down onto her bed. "You're not leaving," he tells her with a commanding presence only a king such as Arthur could possess.

Lara glares up at him dangerously. "I am putting Camelot in danger by being here," she says angrily. "I should have left with the Embolis as soon as Morgana thought it was gone. That was my mistake. Now, if I lead them in another direction then Camelot will be safe."

"We will fight," Arthur says with certainty.

"You can't win, Arthur!" Lara yells at him. "As honorable and skilled as your army may be, these men have been trained to kill without mercy. They have no conscience, no scruples, no thought or hesitation when a child is in their way." Arthur flinches. "They will take Camelot and destroy anyone in it—and that's if you're lucky. Bronwyn will go to the ends of the Earth and hell and back to have me again. I am his most prized assassin—a child born with a magic immunity comes once in a lifetime—in a century! He won't give up until he has me."  
>Lara turns and takes her swords from the a loose floorboard, Arthur's eyes glued onto her back.<p>

"And Merlin?"

Lara stops, frozen at the mentioning.

"What will he think when you're gone?" Arthur says. "He'll feel abandoned. He—"

"I'd rather him feeling abandoned than being dead!" she screams.

Lara straps her swords, bow and quiver to her bag. "Are you willing to harbor a Gorinian assassin in your walls, threatening the lives of your subjects and your kingdom?" she shoots sharply at him. He glares at her. Lara shakes her head, her face certain. "I am not worth fighting for, Arthur."

Lara turns away and puts her bags over her shoulders. As she turns her back to Arthur, he swings his arm down toward her head. She spins, dropping her things and catches his wrist. She frowns.

"What are you doing?" she demands.

Arthur strikes toward her stomach, which she promptly blocks and then he elbows her face, knocking her off her feet. Lara's face is pressed to the ground, unconscious. She breathes peacefully.

Arthur exhales and shakes his hand out. He picks Lara up and lays her on her bed, making it look like she's sleeping.

"I'm sorry, Lara," he says before leaving, "but this is one fight you'll have to lose."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4—Sacrifice

Arthur goes back to the castle, feeling guilty and certain of his actions all at once. He is looking at the ground, deep in thought when Gwyn sees him and she grins.

"Arthur," she cries.

He looks up immediately and smiles lightly. They hug and he kisses her hair. Gwyn pulls back, touching his face and frowning.

"What's the matter?" she asks.

Arthur swallows. "Nothing," he says. "Just—do me a favor and stay in the castle for the night. I'll have chambers made up for you."

Gwyn frowns, obviously taken by his strange manner. Arthur kisses her lips tenderly and walks down the corridor toward Gaius' chamber. When he opens the door, Merlin is there about to leave.

"Stay here, Merlin," Arthur says shutting the door behind him. "Lara's sleeping."

Gaius looks up from bandaging Sir Warren's wounds at the worried Arthur and looks cautiously at Merlin. "What's wrong?"

"Gaius, Mo—"

"Arthur!"

Arthur turns and Leon has burst through the door. "Arthur, you must see this."

—Lara's eyes shoot open and she sits up from her bed. She is furious for Arthur knocking her unconscious like that—how dare he?

She stands and grabs her things that were dropped when she was knocked out. She opens the door, intending on leaving for the stables, when she sees Arthur coming down from the castle toward the outer gates—he looks determined. She closes the door immediately and changes into her Mortis clothes, including the mask.

Lara jumps onto Trinidad, wiping the paint away from his nose, and follows the distant knights. Trinidad catches up—he is very fast—and follows them into the forest.

Lara jumps her horse over rocks and fallen tree trunks until she sees that the knights have stopped. She sees flashes of red—flesh red-mixed with the bright green of the forest.

She stops when she reaches next to Arthur and jumps immediately from Trinidad. All the knights and Merlin are staring at the scene—men, women, children slaughtered and scattered around the woods. Their eyes are wide open with shock—blue, green, hazel, brown frozen like ice in time. They are druids. There are char marks on trees and small burning fires that indicate their attempt to protect themselves…They are a peaceful people, and if they were desperate enough to use their magic to save their lives...

Lara shudders deeply. She's seen this before—deaths, murders in bulk, and more than a few times it was by her hand, but this was different. This wasn't an order given to her for Bronwyn's gain—this was _for_ her. This was Bronwyn's way of saying—_I'm here_.

Lara falls to her knees to the blood soaked, loamy forest floor. She swallows, warmth pushing behind her eyes. She looks sharply to the side when she hears a sharp intake of breath.

Lara crawls forward toward the druid man. His face is cut jaggedly and a dagger sticks at a crooked angle on his stomach—a technique so the target can't take out the weapon causing the death.

Lara puts her hands on his face, whimpering without meaning to. He grasps her wrists and pushes away the long sleeves so her skin is visible. His eyes are tearing and blood that is not his own splatters his face. A forced, painful smile appears on his face.

"You have changed, Mortis," he croaks. "We have never met, but I know. You have changed." Lara swallows, not caring that the knights of Camelot and Merlin have their eyes on her. "I believe that is Emrys' doing," the druid man says. He smiles again, looking at the sky past her shoulder.

"No," Lara whimpers so only he can hear.

"Stay with Emrys," he croaks softly. "Keep him safe."  
>The druid man's throat gurgles with death and his eyes are nonresponsive—frozen like all those around him. Lara shakes her head and presses her gloved hand to her forehead. His blood rubs off on her mask, but she doesn't care.<p>

She is suddenly overwhelmed with fury. She stands slowly and turns to march in the direction where they were waiting—where Bronwyn was waiting. Arthur grabs her arm.

"No," Arthur says sternly.

Lara turns on her heel and pushes Arthur's chest, her eyes swimming with fury and pain. Arthur grabs her wrists.

"You have to stop!" Arthur cries. "You can't act impulsively! We have to think before they get here or we'll certainly die!"

Lara pushes him away again and stares at his eyes, her stricken with pain. Arthur holds out his hands desperately.

"You're our only hope, Mortis," he says quietly.

Lara swallows deeply and looks over his shoulder at Merlin. All the knights are thrown by Lara's reaction. Merlin is confused to the druid man telling Mortis that he changed the assassin. Regardless, Lara tears her eyes away from Merlin and mounts Trinidad again.

— Lara stands in the center of her small house, the night dark and lingering. She waits for Arthur so they can discuss things. He's been in the castle, preparing Camelot for attack. Lara thinks of the Embolis—where it's hidden now and when it will be found. Mostly, she thinks of Merlin.

Lara doesn't sleep through the night—Arthur hasn't come to talk, he's probably been busy. The sun peeks over the horizon, and stands by the window with her eyes closed so the sun may rise on her face in Camelot again. She tenses when there's a knock on the door.

"Lara?"

Its Gwyn. Lara opens the door. Gwyn's face is worried and intense.

"Gwyn what's wrong?" Lara asks urgently.

"Follow me," Gwyn says grabbing her hand. "You need to see this."  
>Lara runs with Gwyn to the tower and climbs up the steps where Arthur is standing with his arms crossed and Merlin looking intensely past the city.<p>

Lara looks herself and sees them. All fifty of them. But they each individually fight like ten men—five hundred.

"Who are they?" Gwyn hisses.

"The Gorinian assassins," Merlin says. He looks at Arthur. "They've finally come for Mortis."  
>Arthur looks at Lara. She looks angry and terrified all at once.<p>

"They found me," she whispers so no one can hear.

Gwyn, Arthur and Merlin look back to the men, standing stoically like statues with dangerous intensity. Then Arthur looks back to Lara—but she's gone.

"Where did Lara go?" Merlin asks.

Arthur looks forward again. "Probably to warn to others," he says. "Merlin, go to Gaius. See what else he knows about the Gorinians."

"Aren't you going to find Mortis?" Merlin asks.

"I'll deal with that later," Arthur says sharply. "Just go."

Merlin does with a glare at his king and then Arthur goes to Gwyn, taking her hands.

"Go to the citadel and stay there," he says. "Collect as many people as you can there so they are safe. Help Gaius in any way he needs."

Gwyn looks at Arthur intently, worried for him. He touches her face and kisses her forehead.

"Now go," he whispers.

Arthur looks at the fleet of dangerous men, fearing for his people. But still—despite his worry for Lara, his friend, and Merlin's feelings toward her, he wonders if this is really something worth dying for. He knows its worth fighting for, but wonders if it's worth risking his people's lives for.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5—Flesh and Blood

Bronwyn and just two men at his flanks walk arrogantly through the town. Arthur has all the sentries, guards and knights lining the streets to block them from the houses leading up to the castle and into the throne room where Arthur is receiving him.

"Arthur Pendragon," Bronwyn says with a smirk. His bodyguards—two young men with vacantly dangerous and arrogant expressions—have their hands on their swords at their hips. Arthur has his most trusted knights behind him and Merlin at his side. Merlin searches for Lara.

"Bronwyn Gorian, I presume," Arthur says in a kingly way.

Bronwyn nods. "In the flesh."

"What brings you to my gates?" Arthur says darkly.

"Oh, come now, Arthur, don't be so dark," Bronwyn says. "I am merely looking for what belongs to me."

"I assure you that nothing that belongs to you is here," Arthur says sternly. Lara, hidden with Gaius in the shadows swallows as she stares at her old mentor.

"Oh, but there is," Bronwyn says raising a finger. "My prodigy is among you and I am certain that you are well-aware of that."

"Why would I have a Gorinian assassin here?" Arthur says stoically.

"To protect a certain relic," Bronwyn says. "Don't play coy, Arthur. You're too clever to pretend."

Arthur glares at him. "Also, you are fearful for your people," Bronwyn adds. "You know the abilities of my men—how one fights like ten and has no mercy when ordered. Why do you resist then?"

Arthur says nothing. Bronwyn smiles.

"Mortis has killed many," he tells everyone in the throne room. "Men, women, children—anyone I said to kill. If a baby was crying too much for my liking it would be dead within seconds. That is why I call my prodigy Mortis, you know. So much _death_. More deadly than a sword but less obedient than one, nowadays." Bronwyn laughs. His face is dark. He looks at Arthur more seriously then. "Also, my prodigy, the very same prodigy I once considered as my child, killed my son. Now, that..." Bronwyn eyes Arthur darkly. "... cannot be tolerated."

"But killing millions of innocent people is?" Arthur rebukes.

Then Bronwyn laughs and looks around the full throne room.

"Tell Mortis to come to our camp before first light tomorrow," Bronwyn says with a revolted smile on his face. "If not every man, woman and child will die. Mortis knows better than anyone that that's a promise."

In the shadows Lara steps forward but Gaius grabs her and pulls her back with more force than thought possible from the old man.

"No, Lara," he whispers. "You must talk to Arthur first."

Lara stands with Gaius' hand firmly on her arm and breathes heavily, hatred and anger coursing through her. "He will fulfill his promise," she whispers darkly. "He would burn the entire world to find me."

Bronwyn gives Arthur an amused look and his bodyguards follow him out of the throne room. The doors shut heavily and many people let go of their breaths, but others are just as scared and begin to speak to each other—the pandemonium is overwhelming.

"We have to turn in Mortis," Sir Dresban calls out angrily. "Camelot will be destroyed if we don't."

"Quiet!" Arthur calls out, commanding the entire room. "All but my knights leave immediately."

People reluctantly leave, not including the knights, Merlin, Gaius and Lara who remain in the shadows. Gwyn stays as well, standing by Arthur's side where she belongs.

"Arthur, Dresban is right," Leon says calmly. "We have to turn Mortis in if Camelot is to survive."

"He will not go willingly," Dresban says angrily. "We'd have to force him if we can."

"No, that's the problem, Dresban, Mortis _would_ go willingly and has tried to," Arthur says shaking his head. "Mortis is much nobler than you think."

"Then let him," Elyan says. "He's brought us nothing but chaos."

"Mortis has brought us peace and has saved our lives more than we know!" Arthur exclaims with authority.

"We can fight," Gawain suggests. "With Mortis by our side, we can fend them off. You saw their faces—they want Mortis and fear him. He is so skilled he strikes fear into Gorinian assassins! He's untouchable."

"No, Mortis is easily touchable," Arthur says. "Bronwyn knows that. He's using Mortis' feelings to manipulate."

"What feelings?" Percival asks. Then he looks at Arthur intently. "Arthur, do we know him?" Everyone looks at Arthur as he thinks.

Gwyn looks at him and Merlin frowns.

"Arthur, are we friends with him?" Leon asks persistently.

Arthur shuts his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. Then he opens his eyes, finishing quickly then stands.

"I know what has to be done," he says. "I'll be back in a moment."

"Arthur," Gwyn says.

"I'll be back," he repeats. He stalks to a secret corridor where Lara is. Gaius squeezes Lara's hand and leaves them to talk. She heard everything.

"We can fight them," Arthur says his mind whirling.

"No," she says simply.

Lara shakes her head. "This situation is too drastic. I will have to go to Bronwyn."

"No," Arthur says angrily.

"There's no contesting it, Arthur," Lara says regally, many thrown by her sense of authority and grace against Arthur. "It has to be done."

"There's an alternative," he says. "The relic—someone besides you can use it and fight them off."

"Arthur, the relic is too powerful for anyone to hold. How do you think they found me? Morgana wants me to take the relic for her own use. She must know that it's not destroyed. But if I go to Bronwyn and find Morgana she won't stand a chance."

"No," Arthur says again. "There has to be another way."

"When you sought out my counsel in the past it was accurate, was it not?" she says almost angrily. Arthur looks at her. "Do no forsake that now of all times."

Arthur still shakes his head. "There has to be another way."

"There isn't," Lara says flatly.

She turns and leaves him in the corridor. But little does she know that Arthur's plan is more dangerous than she.

Lara goes through the corridors, knowing a way to sneak through the castle to get to her house in the lower town. She'll come back to say goodbye, maybe get more bows from the armory.

"Lara."

Lara turns swiftly on her heel and sees Merlin rushing towards her. He puts his hands on her shoulders.

"Go with Gwyn where ever she goes," Merlin instructs quickly. "She knows the castle inside and out so if they come you and her can escape with the other women and children."

Lara looks up at her airily. "And what about you?"

"I'll fend off who I can with my magic but I don't know if Mortis will go to them or if Arthur will allow him to," he says quickly. His hand touches the side of her face and he hears a noise so he looks past her head. "Just stay safe—go to Ealdor and my mother will house you. Just stay safe."

Lara steps on her tip toes and holds Merlin's face, pressing her lips urgently to his. She suppresses tears she never thought she'd produce for the rest of her life. She pulls away hesitantly and looks up at Merlin. The side of his thumb strokes her cheekbone.

She squeezes his hand and looks at him intently. "No one has ever wanted to take care before as much as you have," she whispers.

Before Merlin can respond Lara pulls away and stalks down the hallway. When Merlin remembers himself and rushes toward her around the corner, she's gone.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6—Death's Surrender

Lara is wearing her old fighting attire—a fitted long sleeve shirt hung just an inch above her bust, dark tight pants, brown leather boots and matching sword belts at her hips and back. Her swords are situated and her bow and quiver as well. She has the hood of her Mortis cloak on too, but no mask. She closes her eyes for a moment before she begins to step out into the courtyard.

Lara steps into the sunlight and to the middle of the courtyard, the previously rapidly speaking people stop rushing through the courtyard, preparing for attack. Then Merlin pushes forward, standing next to a solemn Gaius.

"What is he doing?" Merlin whispers angrily. Gaius exhales deeply, bothered and wishing there was an alternative.

"She's saving our lives," Gaius says deeply. Merlin frowns deeply and looks at Gaius.

"She?" Merlin says aghast.

Then Lara looks over her shoulder so her face is displayed, her hood tilted just behind the crown of her head. Some gasp, Merlin falls back. She makes a face then goes back to her stoic expression—the expression that proves Death is near.

"Lara," Merlin whispers.

Just then Trinidad with a dark rider dressed nearly exactly like Mortis rides from the stables. The rider on Trinidad rushes forward past the gates. Lara looks after, face in horror.

"Arthur," she hisses.

Lara runs to the other side of the courtyard quickly and jumps onto the nearest horse.

"Lara—wait!" Merlin yells.

Lara rides forward—she's an exceptional horsewoman—so fast the horse won't be able to take it forever. Clenching her teeth against the cold of the wind, she chases after Arthur impersonating her. Merlin is far behind.

As Lara approaches the last gates, they are being shut quickly after Arthur.

"NO!" she screams. "OPEN THE GATES!"

But the horse stops and neighs before the guards, pointing weapons to stop her.

She screams out in anger and grabs one of the spears. Merlin catches up to her.

"That was not Mortis!" she screams out. "That was King Arthur! Open the gates!"

The guards are stupid and do not understand.

Lara pulls up her bow and situates an arrow. She releases and the arrow hits open the pull to open the gates.

Lara does not wait to ride forward, knocking the guards over. Merlin follows but not nearly as quickly as Lara.

Arthur is distant and dark. Lara rides after him as he rides quickly through the Gorinian camp just past the Darkling Woods where people on the fort cannot see. Arthur knows how fast Trinidad is and he is taking advantage of that.

"Stop her!" Bronwyn yells to his men once Arthur passes him.

An assassin answers his call by raising a hand, eyes glowing, pulling Trinidad down to the ground with magic, the horse neighs wildly and brays in pain.

The men run at Arthur, thinking it is Lara, and see that the rider is unconscious.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Lara screams out. She pulls her sword and immediately slays two of the assassins on horseback. She jumps from her horse and pulls off her cloak. She blocks the blow of one assassin, and then with her other sword, the blow of another. Then she kicks the stomach of the first, knocking him down the slices the neck of the other.

Merlin rides forward, seeing that Arthur is in danger and raises a hand.

He bellows a powerful spell that blows the assassins away into the forest, dead.

Merlin picks up Arthur and throws him over Trinidad's back once the horse rises. Behind him, a man strikes at Merlin with a mace, but Lara puts her hand out so the chain wraps around her wrist, hurting her but saving Merlin. She slides her sword forward into the man's chest then knees him in the underbelly. Then she runs a sword through his stomach.

She looks over her shoulder. "Go!" she commands.

"Not without you," Merlin says surely.

Lara pushes him toward the horse and sheaths her swords. Then she puts three arrows in her bow quickly and shoots it out. One assassin is killed, one dodges the arrow and the last catches it from the air.

"Go now!" she yells again. "Save Arthur!"

She grabs the chest of his shirt and pushes him up. Merlin jumps onto Trinidad and then Lara behind him. She sits on the back of her horse backward, shooting anyone and everyone she can. Merlin sees several men running to them on horseback. He raises his hand and recites a spell—the spell blazes fire above them and encircles them, pushing them out of Merlin, Arthur and Lara's way. They reach past the trees and Camelot is in view—the gates.

"OPEN THE GATES!" Merlin screams out as they approach Camelot.

The gates are frantically opened, Merlin can see Gwyn and Gaius worrying at the top of the fort, and Merlin rides forth.

As they go forward, Lara realizes she has only killed ten men. She shoots more arrows, but many heave learned to catch them—even with her aim. She's been able to kill quite a few horses, but that will only cripple them and not vitally.

Lara looks back briefly at Camelot's gates—at Gwyn and Gaius, Arthur and Merlin—then back toward the Gorinians, murderous and following the orders of a madman.

She slides from Trinidad's back and begins running to the ground.

"Lara!" Gwyn cries pulling away from Gaius atop the fort.

Lara runs forward, shooting at the attacking men. She throws her bow to the side, out of arrows, and draws both her swords.

The knights and all who knew Lara in Camelot stand at the top of the fort, watching as Lara fights three—sometimes four men at a time. She kills two more and three more.

"My God in Heaven," Elyan whispers.

"She's incredible," Gawain hisses under his breath.

Everyone is unable to tear their eyes away from the scene—one young woman who they grew to know as their friend, fighting and killing Gorinian assassins.

Lara elbows a man in the throat, causing him to choke and knock over while she throws her sword behind her to kill the man while she slides her other sword into the pelvis of another. She raises her leg to kick an assassin and he catches her leg, but Lara sticks her right sword into the ground and uses that leverage to push herself up and use her free leg on the assassin's face, dislocating his jaw. Lara slices his neck jaggedly and jumps to catch an attacker's sword between the sides of her feet. She spins with the sword in her feet, slicing another's belly and releases the sword so it slides toward another assassin, but he blocks it with his sword. Lara kicks yet another attacker's face, and elbows his throat before stabbing a dagger into his shoulder.

Lara jumps backward with both swords in her hand. She looks as her attackers surround her-they are instructed to capture her. Even if they _could_ kill her they wouldn't simply because they were told not to.

They overpower her, surround her with their weapons pointed and taunting. She squeezes her swords and looks over her shoulder at Camelot. Merlin and Arthur have just got into the gates. Merlin looks over his shoulder then and sees that Lara isn't there. He jumps from the horse and runs toward the open gates, but the guards begin to shut it, pushing him away as he struggles angrily, and then the gates shut while Merlin screams out.

A small smile falls on her face then she turns back to her trained opponents. She drops her swords to the blood soaked ground willingly.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7—Déjà vu

Arthur taken to the inside of the fort and they lay him down.

"Is he all right?" Gwyn asks frantically.

"Yes," Gaius says. "He's only fallen."

Gaius pulls out a cup of smelling salts to Arthur's nose and he comes to nearly immediately. Arthur stands and looks around. His shoulders slump when he realizes he's failed.

"That was very stupid!" Gwyn yells smacking Arthur's chest and tears rising on her lids. "You could have been killed!"

"I had to try," Arthur says solemnly. Gwyn swallows and shakes her head.

"All this time-_Lara_ was the Gorinian assassin," she says in a breathy voice.

"She was afraid to tell you," Arthur says calmly as he sits back down, fatigue washing over him. "She...was afraid of being judged as a murderer."

Gwyn says nothing and presses her lips together, unsure of how she feels toward Lara now.

Then Merlin rushes into the room, anger coursing through him after fighting the guards to get to Lara. He climbed to the top and saw Lara getting pulled away past his line of sight by the Gorinians.

"You knew!" he barks, stalking toward Arthur.

"I couldn't tell you," Arthur says calmly.

Merlin grabs Arthur's tunic and yells in his face. "Why didn't you tell me?" he screams.

"Because she asked me not to!" Arthur yells back pushing Merlin away. Gawain who had been watching with Merlin comes in and shakes his head to Arthur.

"They took her," Gawain says.

Arthur exhales angrily. "Again," Arthur says quietly.

Merlin paces across the fort room, not caring that it is filled with people and running his hands through his hair.

"I'm sorry, Merlin," Arthur says reasonably. "She asked me not to tell you. She said you would find out when the time was right."

"Well, it was a hell of a time!" Merlin screams. Then he stops and stalks toward the door. "I have to go after her."

"No, Merlin," Arthur yells. Gawain grabs Merlin even though he struggles.

"I have to save her!"

"You can't!" Arthur yells. "No one can. She's surrounded by Gorinian assassins—they'll kill you without thought or guilt."

"Leave her, Merlin," Gawain cries. "You'll die if you try."

Merlin shakes his head. "I have to help her," he says surely pushing himself off of Gawain and heading toward the door again.

"No one can, Merlin," Arthur says grabbing Merlin's arm.

Merlin shrugs him away. "_I CAN_!" he growls ferociously like a dragon.

Arthur is surprised as Merlin begins to stalk away but Arthur draws his sword.

"I command you as your King to stay _here_!" he yells.

Merlin pulls a sword from a guard's sword belt and clashes with Arthur's sword. Then he uses magic silently so the sword thrusts Arthur away powerfully.

Merlin leaves everyone stunned and all who love him afraid for his life.

— Lara remembers. Like déjà vu. She is chained to two thick trees, the chains taut and tight on her wrists so she has no chance of escape. She is kneeling on the ground, head low so her hair, dripping with rainwater from above, is wet and some strands stick to her face. Her cheeks are brightly rosy from the cold and the rest of her is pale while the men hide in their tents from the rain, eating, sometimes laughing and not bothering to look at her misery. There are only thirty-eight of them now, after her killing quite a few of them. They were rewarded for their success with food—usually they weren't allowed food until they returned to the island.

Just like when she was five and was taken from her parents, she is being held. When they were killed before her eyes and she was taken by Bronwyn who trained her.

Bronwyn smiles, just as he did when she was a child. He bends over so his face is at her level. He is not too wet from the rain—he just came from his tent.

"Hello, Mortis," Bronwyn says laughingly. Lara says nothing, not even looking at him. "You made a friend of the king. And that kept you safe... Did you care for him? Or perhaps for many of the people in Camelot?" Bronwyn laughs. "Did they treat you kindly? Did Arthur pretend to be your friend?

"Oh, but Arthur was not your friend, Mortis," Bronwyn laughs. "He knew of your…particular abilities. If he were to anger you, he would have lost a very powerful ally. He was kind for his own benefit. And for those who didn't know who you are, how could they be a friend to one who has killed as much as you have?"

Lara slowly looks up at him, dark wet strands of her hair stick to her pale face, accenting her full ruby lips and rosy cheeks. Her loveliness only made her expression look more lethal towards Bronwyn.

"I don't expect you to understand," she says quietly, darkly. "You have no idea what it means to be loyal."

"Loyalty?" Bronwyn repeats. He barks out laughter wildly, throwing his head back manically. Then he stops laughing abruptly and grabs Lara's throat, not squeezing hard enough to strangle her. "I understand loyalty more than you ever will, child! See these men? All willing to lay their lives down for me and kill whomever I wish. That is loyalty."

"That is loyalty through fear," Lara corrects darkly. Bronwyn glares at her. "Did you see that man impersonating me? The one that rode through the camp on my horse?" Bronwyn doesn't answer. "That was King Arthur, laying down his life for the protection of not only his people but a commoner turned lethal assassin. He's known about me for quite some time. That is loyalty, Bronwyn. Caring for another without contest or thought of self." Bronwyn does not respond. He stands to walk away.

"And when I killed your son," she calls after him. Bronwyn stops, fists clenched with his back to her. "My, was _that_ a treat. The bloodthirsty boy was very refined in the dark arts by the time I met him again. He was revolting, right to the very end. Right when my sword slid through his chest and the light left his eyes just how he took the light from his mother's." Bronwyn's anger rises as Lara watches his back.

"But still Arthur kept me safe when I killed a prince—still he allowed me to stay in Camelot when he found out who and what I was," she says calmly. "He knew that my motives were to keep him alive and that I was more than an assassin. He remained loyal to me through that." Bronwyn looks over his shoulder, brow furrowed and staring at Lara.

"See?" Lara laughs darkly. "You still don't understand."

Bronwyn cries out and punches Lara's jaw. She does not make a sound and spits out blood to the muddy forest floor.

He rips the back of her shirt down so her brand is displayed, rain falling over the morbid burn. Then Bronwyn grabs her chin again and speaks in her face.

"You will remember your brand, Mortis," he hisses into her face. "You are still mine."

Bronwyn pushes her face away and stalks back to his tent. Lara spits more into the ground and then looks up to the sky, letting the raindrops dilute the blood away from her face.

— Merlin rides quickly out toward the empty field past Camelot. He's used a spell so he can't be followed. He does not want to put anyone else in danger. He calls the Great Dragon who lands before him but with Aithusa as well.

"Merlin," Aithusa says nodding. "My dragon lord."

Merlin nods. "Lara has been taken by the Gorinians," Merlin says sharply.

"Mortis is very powerful," the Great Dragon says solemnly. "Only she can save herself, young warlock."

Merlin shakes his head frantically. "No, no," he says. "I cannot leave her."

Kilgharrah blinks and Aithusa smiles. "You are already in love with her," the Great Dragon says with near surprise.

Merlin swallows deeply and looks up at him. "You have known all along," he growls. "You could have told me!"

"No, I could not, dragon lord," Kilgharrah says solemnly. "What binds me to you as a dragon lord is great, but what binds me to my word against telling you of Mortis is different. Had I told you, the destinies that have intertwined together would have been altered. The Old Religion is sometimes more powerful than you or I."

Merlin glares at him and chews on his bottom lip. "Tell me how I can save her," he commands.

"You already have to ability to save her," the Great Dragon says calmly. "But you must find her first. The Gorinians are very refined in magic and therefore can hide themselves were they to wish to. You _can_ find her though, Merlin...By using the Embolis."

Merlin's eyes widen and he shakes his head. "No, it's too powerful."

"The Embolis and you are one, Merlin," The Great Dragon says. "If one is near the other, it is more powerful. But only because you are its child—your magic is its magic. Take the relic and it will go with you no matter what. Then you will have the power to find Mortis and you and she-perhaps with the help of Aithusa-defeat the Gorinian Alliance forever."

Merlin swallows, deep in thought. Then he looks up darkly at the dragons before him. "Where is it?"

—Merlin goes to his own chambers. She's kept it there since she moved it from the treasury—since Lara was told by Kilgharrah how Merlin and the Embolis were entwined. He kneels and puts his hand on the stone just above his bed. It jiggles and it is loose. He pulls the stone out and there was the Embolis. It is golden and glowing like his eyes with his presence. The writing of the Old Religion reminds him of the writing on the sorcerer Dristan and now Excalibur.

Merlin reaches his hand slowly and holds the relic in his hand. It glows brightly. His eyes roll to the back of his head as the Embolis burns into his hand and courses through his veins like blood. On his back between his shoulder blades form the picture of the relic, tattooed to his skin permanently.

Merlin's eyes shine and he opens them as the Embolis reunites with its Emrys.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8—Captor, not Master

Arthur and the knights are assembled in the throne room, Gwyn is imploring to Arthur.

"We have to find some way, Arthur!" she cries. "Lara has saved all our lives."

"I know, Guinevere," Arthur says solemnly. He gestures toward the maps on the table. "We have no way of finding them—for all we know, they are already on the Isle of Gorinian."

"I know where they are."

Everyone looks up to the doorway. Merlin stands, looking powerful, solemn and strong all at once. Even Gaius is surprised.

Arthur sighs with relief. "You're back," he says.

"I followed them," Merlin lies. "They're just west of the Valley of the Fallen Kings. A route no one but them knows of."

Arthur blinks. "You tracked them without being caught," he says incredulously.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Arthur?" Merlin says with a smirk. "I'm a very powerful man."

Arthur chuckles, but inside he feels that it was less than a joke now.

—Lara looks up, the area just below her eyes dark from lack of sleep. Before her is a smirking Morgana with Bronwyn at her side.

"So this is the face of the legendary Mortis," Morgana laughs. "A pretty thing but hardly intimidating."

Lara just glares at her. The last time she saw Morgana she was saving Gwyn, blocking Morgana's fire from the others. Lara pushed forward and managed to cut Morgana's arm but then Morgana disappeared. That was how she found out that the Gorinian assassin was in Camelot. And the dark magic that Aldren knew—it was from her. All a ploy to find her and to discover whether the Embolis still existed—if Mortis was still in Camelot, so was the Embolis.

"She's here as promised," Bronwyn says. Lara wonders if he knows Morgana corrupted his son with dark magic.

"Yes, but now I need something from her," Morgana says kneeling down to be eye level with Lara. "Where is the Embolis?"

Lara smiles and lets out a laugh. Morgana frowns. "You will never find it," she says.

Morgana grabs Lara's chin. "You will tell me where it is," she hisses. "I know that you're its protector."

"Even if it were still in my possession, I no longer need to protect it," she says. "Can't you feel it? It is in the right hands, now."

Morgana stares at her, horrified by the concept.

"You will tell me where it is or—"

"Or what, Morgana?" Lara interrupts. "You will kill me? I do not fear death. Death and I are good friends. We've seen one another so often that we no longer fear each other. Anything you threaten to do to me will be useless. I am untouchable now. Death will only bring me peace and you an impasse."

Morgana glares and stands. Angrily, she turns away to pace.

"Are you familiar with the name Emrys?" Lara says to Morgana's back.

Morgana freezes in her place, horrified.

"Ah, so you are," Lara hisses with a dark smile. "The Embolis and Emrys are one—now that they have combined, Emrys is at full power."

Morgana's eyes go wide with fear. She backs up away from the violent eyes of Lara. Then she stalks forward and punches Lara's face.

"_Who is_ _Emrys_?" she demands.

Lara spits her blood into Morgana's face. Morgana raises her hand and recites and incantation. Lara's chains glow as if under a flame and Lara screams out as the hot metal burns her wrists. The assassins watch the torture. The fire settles and Lara glares up at Morgana, eyes murderous and angry that she found a loophole in Lara's immunities.

"I will kill him, you know," Morgana says darkly to Lara. "I will find Emrys and kill him slowly, and painfully whether you tell me or not."

Lara pushes against her still hot chains, surprising Morgana slightly and especially Bronwyn.

"_You will never touch him_," she growls, her voice gaining a double timbre.

Morgana smiles slightly and chuckles darkly. "You have an assassin in love, Gorian."

"He will kill you," Lara hisses from her place. "He will kill you just as it is prophesized. And I will smile above your unmarked grave, damning you to hell where you belong, Morgana!"

Morgana glares down at Lara. "Prophetic thing, aren't you?" she says quietly. "Do you even understand your insignificance?"

"No more than you will ever understand how wrong you are," Lara says. "How much you have lost and will lose because of your unjust hatred." Morgana stares at Lara who smiles. "You are more like your father than you realize."

Morgana falls backward slightly toward Bronwyn. Then, without another word, disappears with a shudder of light.

Bronwyn looks over to Lara whose smile becomes lucid and looks back down the ground. He sighs lazily.

"You've become soft, Mortis," Bronwyn says. "Too much emotion in you."

Lara looks up at Bronwyn blankly. "Sorry to disappoint."

"No you aren't," he contradicts.

Lara smiles. "You're right, I'm not."

Then Bronwyn sighs again, pulling his sword out. "You won't ever kill for me again, will you?"

Lara laughs. "I didn't want to before," she says. "Now I realize that I have a choice."

"What makes you think you ever had a choice?" Bronwyn growls darkly.

"You fear me, Bronwyn," Lara says taking Bronwyn aback. "You fear my ability and how I can destroy you." Bronwyn's face appears fearful. "And mark my words, Bronwyn," Lara barks her voice full of hate and vengeance. "I will destroy you in the most painful way possible. I will feel no remorse." Lara's voice grows soft, dark and haunting so Bronwyn can barely breathe. "The people you have made me kill—their screams can only be silenced by yours."

Bronwyn's hand shakes briefly then his face flashes with rage. Then he raises his sword up and goes to strike Lara's neck. She just closes her eyes.

But just before Bronwyn strikes a sword catches it. Lara's eyes snap open and she sees someone's chain mailed arms holding the sword that saved her.

The knights of Camelot rush forward, attacking the ready assassins.

"NO!" Lara screams because Arthur has begun fighting Bronwyn.

Lara struggles against her chains that are scraping against her burned wrists and hating that Arthur is in danger—Bronwyn did train them all and he is exceptional.

Merlin runs up to her and pulls at her chains. Lara looks forward.

"They're not looking," she cries.

Merlin puts his hands on the chains, his eyes glow, and the chains break from the tree. Lara sheds them quickly and runs up to an assassin about to strike a final blow to a shocked Percival. She grabs the assassin's wrist, twists it so it breaks and bangs her head into the assassin's. He falls backward and she takes his sword, slaying him in the gut.

Percival doesn't have the chance to show his gratitude because Lara runs toward Arthur, trying to pull Bronwyn away from him.

Bronwyn kicks Arthur in the stomach, knocking him backwards.

"The stories are true—you are quite the fighter," Bronwyn laughs. "If I didn't know any better I would have thought you were an assassin. Though you lack the hatred—show more hatred, Great King!"

Arthur runs forward and slices Bronwyn's arm, but Bronwyn turns Arthur's sword so he has to grab it with both hands to keep himself from being disarmed.

"Go on—hate me!" Bronwyn yells pushing him forward. "I stole Mortis from her home—I killed her parents before her very eyes! Wasn't _your_ father killed before your very eyes?"

Arthur rushes forward and clashes with Bronwyn. Bronwyn turns his sword sideways and puts his face close to Arthur's locking his arm in.

"Did you know her hair was golden as a child?" he hisses. He laughs as Arthur tries to pull away. "It became darker as she grew older, but I remember her golden hair. How I pulled it to shreds to get her to do what I wanted. Did she tell you about how I made her kill her uncle? The last of her family, you know. She was seven. How could you care for someone who would kill their own kin? Oh wait." Bronwyn laughs. "You killed your mother, didn't you?"

Arthur screams out and pushes Bronwyn. He kicks his stomach and slices at Bronwyn's chest. Bronwyn dodges it and laughs.

"There's that hatred!" Bronwyn cries happily. "Go on, Arthur—use it!"

Arthur cries out again and slashes at Bronwyn, but Bronwyn blocks it and cuts Arthur's chest, cutting through his chain mail.

After Arthur is cut, Lara pushes Bronwyn's sword up and kicks him forcefully in the chest backward so he falls over.

Lara walks Arthur back so Merlin grabs him, away from Bronwyn.

"Arthur—no!" Merlin cries holding the king back from his own anger. "Let her take care of it."

Lara turns to face Bronwyn who stands and looks at her darkly. Lara glares at him.

"So it's come to this?" Bronwyn says walking in a circle. Lara circles as well, cavalier about the fight she's dreamt of all her life. Bronwyn lets his sword drop in the dirt, tracing their circle. "Student teaching tutor. Assassin fighting employer…Slave defying master."

As Lara walks she puts her foot underneath a sword of a dead man and kicks it up so she catches it easily in her left hand. She spins it idly in her hand and stops to face Bronwyn.

"You were never my master," she says calmly. "Only my captor."

They look at each other for a moment, then Bronwyn makes the first move.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 39—Rigor Mortis

Arthur pushes Merlin away and runs to help his knights—many were dying, more were injured.

Merlin looks frantically around—chaos. More knights were dying than assassins. Lara and Bronwyn have disappeared into the trees, fighting so quickly it was difficult to pull away. Then he swallows and summons the knowledge of the dragon lords.

A great cry rings out, breaking the barrier of sound. Then Aithusa glides into battle, chewing up assassins and knocking knights out of the way of a deadly blow. The White Dragon roars as he shoots fire at the assassins going to attack. As the flames linger blue and white, Arthur looks up in amazement. Aithusa looks at the King and nods, regarding him. Arthur blinks wildly at the incredulity of the humanlike expression on the White Dragon's face.

Many of the more veteran assassins continue to fight their human opponents without too much worry of the dragon by them. The others scream as they attempt at Aithusa's life.

On the outskirts of the battle, Merlin uses magic to help the knights of Camelot and Aithusa whenever an assassin was skilled enough to head for the right side of the dragon's chest. He works, frantically, with hands raised and performing spells he could not have before without the Embolis. He feels the tattoo burn on his back whenever he uses his magic. As Gawain is hit in the chest with the hilt of an assassin's sword, Merlin's eyes glow and the assassin's sword rings like shrieking metal and explodes into a million pieces. The assassin, aghast, roars in anger as Gawain slays him.

Gawain laughs at himself and goes in a circle, looking for an explanation. "I _like_ this battle!" he cries joyously, charging back to another assassin.

The side of Lara's head bashes into a tree, the splinters cutting to her temple and blood dotting the wood left behind.

Despite her eyes being unclear after hitting the tree, she ducks down so Bronwyn's sword slashes deeply into the flesh of the tree. Lara swings her leg over his, causing him to stumble and giving her the opportunity to stand again.

Lara holds both of her swords across from Bronwyn as he steadies himself. She spins them in her hand, her eyes glaring into his. Both of them are breathing heavily from the strain of the fight. They have pushed each other long away from the battle, using the rocky terrain as their own battleground.

Bronwyn breathes deeply and swallows, his Adam's apple bobbing as sweat shines on his forehead. Lara doesn't not feign any weakness, clutching her swords and waiting for Bronwyn to attack again.

Bronwyn lets out a breathy laugh. "I've almost forgotten how good you are," he breathes. "But what should I expect—I did train you."

"You stole my life from me," Lara growls, turning her swords in her hands.

Bronwyn laughs. "If it wasn't me, it would have been someone else," he says. Lara takes a small step forward toward him, but Bronwyn laughs again. "Do you even know how I found out about you? Why I sent four of my men—that would be forty for any other king!—to watch you? To perform magic on an insignificant common girl in an insignificant village and while her oblivious parents stand by her pathetically?"

Lara glares at him, gripping her swords so strongly that her fists turn red. Bronwyn laughs darkly again, still breathy as her looks up at her.

"You really don't know, do you?" Bronwyn laughs. Lara says nothing, breathing through her nose as she grits her teeth. "Uther was the one who told me about you. He wanted you—he wanted you so he may use you as a weapon. He wanted me to train you so that when the time was right, he could make you his." Lara felt her spine chilling, the hatred that Bronwyn used to fuel her all her life coursing through her. "I'm sure Arthur left that out of your many confidences, Mortis."

Lara shakes her head. "You're lying," she lies to herself.

Bronwyn laughs again. "I grew attached," he says. "You were Uther's little secret, but you were also became mine. I told him you died. It was simple enough—Uther was a gullible man. Just like your Arthur—easily believing that you were good. More than a murderer."

Lara screams out in anger and slashes her sword out at him, aiming for his neck. He blocks it and she spins so her second sword slams toward his shoulder. Bronwyn pushes her to the side and the sword slices onto a boulder behind him, creating sparks and setting a bush on fire.

Lara elbows Bronwyn's face and spins her sword toward his gut, cutting him only slightly as he dashes out of the way. Bronwyn grabs her arm and jams his elbow down on the inside of her own elbow, knocking her sword from her right hand.

Lara bangs her head into Bronwyn's and they both falter backward. Lara strikes at him and he blocks it, their swords clashes as he pushes her footwork backward toward more boulders. They strain against each other, teeth gritted as their blades cry. Bronwyn's face is close to hers.

"I've misjudged you, Mortis," Bronwyn growls into her face.

He slices her sword up and slams his elbow across her face, knocking her over and causing her sword to shoot from her hands. Lara falls on her belly and scrambles forward to get her sword back, but Bronwyn recites a simple spell, shooting the sword deep into a tree trunk.

"You're _weak_!" he shouts. Bronwyn kicks Lara's stomach, knocking the wind out of her so she gasps for air and flips her over so she stares up at him.

Blood trickles down the side of Lara's mouth as she holds her hands together and slams it down onto Bronwyn's shin. He kicks her arms up and raises his hand so he catches another sword in his hand. He crosses the swords underneath Lara's jaw line.

"I saw you as a daughter at one point, Mortis," he says tilting his head to the side. "Funny how things change." Lara's breath fogs up the steel as it puts shallow cuts onto her throat. "I almost feel sorry for you," Bronwyn continues. "You'll never be anything more than Death."

Lara looks away when she sees her reflection in the blades before her that threaten her life. She thinks of who she was before she came to Camelot—the blood lust and torture in her eyes was evident. There was no light in them before. Now, even before her death, she sees goodness in herself she never thought existed.

Before she came to Camelot, she had killed many without reason other than she was told to. She found purpose when the Great Dragon guided her to the Crystal Caves, showing her magic that she never thought she would be able to see. She saw herself smile in those visions—saving Merlin and Arthur and Gwyn. She saw herself become alive. Even after killing Bran, the assassin that Bronwyn betrothed her to, she felt the sting of murder.

She knows that she had been Death, but now she is more than that.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10—White Skyline

Merlin watches as the battle ensues, the Gorinian assassins losing as their numbers dwindle to four. Aithusa was a turning point in the battle and now the dragon looks at Merlin and rises to fly away. Arthur and Gawain look at the white dragon as it disappears in the sky.

"Well that was fun," Gawain says. "Not every day you get a dragon on your side."

Arthur says nothing, but Merlin can't help but laugh—he _always_ has dragons at his side.

As the knights finally surround the assassins that are now at three, Arthur offers them to surrender. They are insulted but must. They drop their swords before the knights of Camelot.

Merlin looks around for Lara—not caring if he has to use his magic in front of Arthur if that's what it takes to save her.

But then he hears someone approaching, unsure if it's Bronwyn or Lara.

—Merlin tenses when Bronwyn stumbles, weaponless, into the clearing. He is bleeding from his head, throat, chest and leg with leaves and dirt covering him. His eyes are frantic and full of fear. Blood lines his white teeth and he cries out as he sees Merlin and Arthur with his knights, all pointing their swords at the surrendered assassins.

The remaining three Gorinian assassins are thrown by their master's appearance.

"Gorian?" one says in confusion.

Bronwyn limps backward, trying to move away from them. But Merlin goes up to him and grabs the chest of his tunic.

"_Where is she_?" he growls into Bronwyn's face.

Bronwyn shakes his head. "You ruined my prodigy," he says shakily. "You ruined her."

Bronwyn pushes Merlin's hands away and runs frantically, limping with his damaged hip, away from them, distancing himself so he is lost in oblivion. He didn't even give the remainder of the Gorinian Alliance a glance.

"Merlin," Arthur begins cautiously.

"Lara!" Merlin calls out. Arthur grabs Merlin's arm and pulls him back by holding both of his shoulders.

"Merlin, stop," Arthur says to his friend. He looks sadly at Merlin as he calms.

Merlin doesn't feel as if he can breathe. He pushes Arthur away and turns his back to the king.

—Lara's eyes flash up from her reflection in Bronwyn's swords to a white dragon soaring across the sky past the obliviously concentrated Bronwyn.

She looks at Bronwyn then briefly.

Lara arches her back and grips her hands across Bronwyn's blade. She hooks her foot at Brownyn's ankle. He stumbles backward and she kicks upwards so her heel jams hard into his pelvis. Bronwyn cries out in the pain as his hip bone cracks and Lara slides both hands down his the length of his swords' blades, grabbing the hilts and pulsing her foot hard into her former mentor's chest.

Bronwyn falls backward and Lara pulls the swords from his hands. He hits his back on a boulder, his neck snapping painfully and Lara pressing the side of one sword to his throat and the other pointed between his eyes.

Lara's blood trickles from her hands onto Bronwyn's swords. She looks calmly in Bronwyn's eyes—his are full of fear. He breathes heavily with surprise and terror for his life. Lara shakes her head. He is more of a coward than he's ever revealed.

"Are you going to kill me, Mortis?" Bronwyn breathes heavily, stuttering in more than a few places.

Lara remains calm despite the fact that Bronwyn's life is in her hands, ready to be taken.

"You always did like questions," she says quietly. Then she slowly shakes her head. "Don't you get sick of blood, Bronwyn?" Bronwyn stares at her, fear prominent and glaring in his eyes. "I do."

Lara looks at him and shakes her head, pitying him. "I'm not going to kill you, Bronwyn," she says. His eyes flash with disbelief. "You're not good enough for that kind of release. You will leave and I will never hear your name again. I will never hear of any Gorinian assassins. The name Gorian has died and you will disappear into oblivion without any mark on man's history. Remember that you have earned your insignificance and that your prodigy—that Mortis has spared your useless life."

Bronwyn swallows deeply, eyes moving frantically and sweat mixing with blood on his forehead.

Lara takes a step back and pulls her swords from him. Bronwyn exhales deeply and clutches his hand to his throat. She turns, not looking at him again and begins walking away.

Bronwyn hyperventilates, staring at Lara's back, and scrambles away from her, climbing over rocks so he can escape her, unknowingly going toward Merlin and Arthur.

—Lara's feet moved on their own accord toward the west. She knew she was going in the opposite direction of Camelot, but she didn't turn around. She barely stopped on her pilgrimage, only to drink before continuing on, not sleeping or eating.

She didn't realize where she was going until she saw it: Marandia

The village where she was captured, where she and her parents spent for a year before she was taken and they were killed. The sea is just over past the cliffs where the village lies so the horizon is white and perfect as the sun rises. Her father got work as a fisherman there when they left the farm she was born in. But she remembers them being happy—feeling safe.

The villagers are just waking to begin their day. All the houses are at least fifteen years old, having been rebuilt after the Gorinian attack. Graves of white stones sit before the cliffs overlooking the great sea, marking who had died in that fateful attack that changed her life.

Lara finds herself before her parent's graves—marked simply and far away from the mausoleum that holds the knights deemed nobler than them. Lara feels they were braver than a majority of the nobles that fight by order of kings and warlords. They fought with purpose. For her.

Lara wonders what they would think if they knew—if they knew that their efforts to protect her from corruption were unsuccessful. But then she smiles because had they seen who she is now—now that she has been altered by Arthur, Gwyn, Gaius and Merlin above all, as well as Camelot—they would be proud.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11—Air

Upon the return to Camelot, the people rejoice in the successful defeat of the Gorinian Alliance. The remaining three are restrained purposefully and held in the dungeons, too lost without purpose to act.

As they reach the citadel, Merlin dismounts quickly and begins to take his saddlebags from his horse and throws them over his shoulders. Gawain and Leon exchange glances and Arthur looks at his friend.

Merlin then goes to Arthur's horse after the stable boy takes his and begins to take his king's saddle bags as well.

"Merlin," Arthur say softly. "You don't have to do that."

Merlin drops the saddle bags on the ground roughly and turns his back to the knights, pressing the heels of his hands to his forehead in anger, pain and sorrow.

Merlin runs Kilgharrah's words through his head—Mortis can save herself. She will destroy the Gorinian Alliance for ever. She destroyed the Alliance with his help, but also destroyed her old master's spirit with her sacrifice.

Merlin cries out in anger, pacing in Gaius' chambers. It doesn't even register that Gaius is not there—he is blinded by white hot fury and suffering.

He finds himself sitting, his hands covering his face while he can't catch up with his own breath.

—Days go by Merlin rarely comes out of his chambers. He comes out to try to work again, but Arthur dismisses him as soon as he sees his friend's suffered face. Gaius tries to speak to Merlin, but it is useless. Arthur, Gwyn and Gawain all attempt to talk to Merlin as well, but he becomes stoic. Nonresponsive like a corpse in rigor mortis.

Camelot continues on, the lower town working through the market as they become excited for an upcoming tournament Arthur is holding in honor of Mortis' sacrifice. The house that was once Justin the Shopkeeper's remains vacant and Lara's horse Trinidad is ridden daily by Gwyn to prevent him from being lonely.

—No one is in the corridors at this hour. They are all sleepy; even the torches to light the halls are dim like the bottom of a lake where the sun doesn't shine.

Gaius has just finished going out to Lady Helene's room, who is recovering from her cold and complaining about her missing maid. Gaius had to explain to her why her maid was gone, and treat her for a simple cold.

Gaius stops abruptly down the hall from the door to his chambers, where Merlin has been hiding in. A person stands in front of it, one hand on the door. Gaius feels he is looking at a ghost. The ghost sees him, smiles and goes forward.

Gaius smiles slightly and turns away—on a stroll he thinks could be necessary for a few moments.

Lara opens the door to his chambers slowly, but even if she had quickly it wouldn't have made much of a difference. She closes the door behind her carefully, gripping the door handle. Her appearance is rather striking-she has bruises yellow around the black and blue edges on her cheek, neck, and shoulder. Her wrists have blistering burns thanks to Morgana and small cuts healing on her neck. But her eyes are bright and her cheeks, besides the injuries, are pink with health. She smiles timidly, showing vulnerability where she usually has none.

Merlin is sitting in a chair across the room, his back to her. She swallows deeply and steps forward. Merlin, detecting the strange disturbance, turns abruptly and stands. He freezes when he sees her, unmoving and without expression.

Lara smiles meekly. "Hi," she says, sounding very vulnerable.

Lara wonders if he'll hate her—hate her for lying to him all this time. Does he feel betrayed as Gaius thinks Arthur will when he one day find Merlin is a sorcerer? Lara chews on her lip as she waits, her fingers clenched tightly in a fist behind her back.

Then Merlin walks without expression across the room, bee-lining to Lara. She fears he will hate her still, all up until he hugs her wholeheartedly.

Lara smiles as she squeezes him helplessly. When Merlin pulls back and looks at her, she can't stop smiling.

"Don't do that ever again," he says, a smile creeping on his face easily.

She lets out a breathy laugh, suddenly aware that in her happiness a tear she hasn't produced since childhood falls warm on her cheek. "Sorry—I had to see a dragon about a certain relic. Apparently, it's gone missing," she says.

Merlin laughs with her quietly and kisses her gently on the lips. Lara smiles, feeling at home and safe at last.


	12. Chapter 12

Secrets of Arthur's Order

Chapter 12—Morning Light

Arthur walks down the dim corridor to the end of the dungeons. His expression is stoic when he reaches the cells in the very end—reserved for the most dangerous of prisoners.

He stands before the last of the Gorinian assassins—the other two killed themselves by way of magic. The last is determined—evidently his magic isn't well practiced. He won't speak, he only stares ahead, the chains wrapped around his wrists and ankles tight but necessary. Arthur stands before him again, trying for the millionth time to get information out of him.

"Who are you?" he asks again sharply. The assassin says nothing. "You realize if you tell me who you are, we could find if you truly deserve these chains."

He says nothing still. He looks slowly up him with cold blue eyes.

"Arthur!"

Gawain comes running down the dungeons. Arthur thought it strange that Gawain is awake so early in the morning. Gawain is grinning though.

"Arthur," Gawain says coming up too his king despite the disturbance. "She's alive. Lara's back."

Arthur, in shock, freezes then brightens with a smile.

"You truly believe that Mortis is worth liking?"

Arthur and Gawain look at the assassin, his expression dark and mocking as he regards the men before him. His voice is gravelly and lingering—not anything that was expected from this young man.

"She betrayed Bronwyn. Why shouldn't she betray you?" he chuckles. "You see into someone's soul when you see them kill. And I have seen her soul more than you ever will, King Arthur."

Arthur grits his teeth and stares at the assassin.

"You do not know all the secrets of even your most trusted comrades," he says with a grim expression. "Know that I know more than you when it comes to Mortis."

Arthur says nothing, only stares.

"Arthur," Gawain says, glaring back at the assassin but more concentrated and tearing him away from the prisoner's evil words. "She's waiting."

Arthur swallows deeply, giving the assassin one last look before turning his back, down the hall back to his returned friend.

—Merlin returns to work nearly immediately. Arthur is very busy with the tournament that was originally for Mortis' sacrifice, and has altered to Lara's return. Merlin has to polish armor, launder clothes, see to feasts and ensure the chambers of the visiting knights are ready, leaving Lara to find things to do.

Lara spins her sword in her hand and then slices it on a slab of rock so sparks fly around her blade. She turns her back to the mechanism—a kind of catapult she fashioned to throw a sword strongly at her—across the training field with her feet strongly on the ground.

"Hello, Gawain!" she calls, waving as the knight approaches. Gawain smiles and waves as well. Then Lara pulls onto the rope that triggers the catapult, shooting a sword strongly at her back.

"Lara!" Gawain cries running forward.

Lara spins on her heel, thrusting her sword upward so the swords ring so high it hurts Gawain's ears. The attacking sword shoots up and as it falls quickly Lara catches it in her open hand, turning it around her back playfully.

She looks at Gawain and laughs. His sword is drawn and he's frozen in confusion.

"Don't be such a wet-blanket, Gawain," she says. Gawain is affronted—no one's ever said anything like _that_ to him.

Gawain sheaths his sword, looking uncertainly at the mechanism. "Why would you make such a thing?"

"I'm bored," she admits lazily sheathing her sword and going to the weaponry lying nearby for her disposal.

"So bored you made a death machine?"

She sighs and picks up a bow and quiver of arrows. "It helps my aim. I've been using something like this since I was a child," she says making Gawain frown deeply. She shrugs. "Besides, it wasn't even going that fast.

Gawain shakes his head. "It's dangerous," he says. "It could have killed you."

"Oh, I haven't gotten a scratch since I returned," Lara says. She rolls her eyes. "Nothing has been going on—all just preparations for a tournament. At least when I was a secret there weren't any hesitations toward sending me off into danger."

"Yes, well you were also a mute ugly little man then, too, so you'll just have to adjust," Gawain says picking up a blunted sword and checking it's balance.

Lara laughs and puts her hood over her head to block the brilliant sun from her eyes. She pulls a bow back—using her own arrows—shooting it at the target so it hits the perfect center.

.

Gawain laughs and shakes his head. "I'm not sure if I'll get used to little Lara shooting an arrow perfectly."

Lara lowers her bow and blinks with an affronted expression. "I don't think anyone's ever called me 'little Lara' before."

"Well, no one's ever called me a wet blanket, so we're even for the day."

They laugh and Lara releases her arrow so it shatters the first into a million pieces.

"Impressive."

Lara turns sharply on her heels at the direction the voice came from and Gawain freezes at the sound. A knight from an order that Lara didn't recognize approaches and Lara looks down so her doesn't see her face underneath her hood. He looks from Lara's to Gawain with a strange mocking smile.

"Incredible aim," he says as if his compliment should be highly regarded.

Lara turns, ignoring him and walks to put her weapons down. The knight raises his eyebrow.

"A deaf knight of Arthur's order," he says with rude humor at Lara's expense. "Interesting."

Lara pushes her hood off and pulls all her long brown hair to one side of her neck. The knight blinks rapidly and lets out a breathy laugh. "That's even more interesting."

Gawain steps forward to the knight, nodding to him with acknowledgement while Lara takes her cloak off and sets it by the other weapons. Her new fighting attire is feminine—made by Gwyn so it was effective and comfortable. Lara denied wearing armor, despite Arthur and Merlin's protests, but made her own leather coverings for her wrists and around her waist.

"She is a friend of the King," he says. He looks at the knight darkly. "Roland."

Roland laughs wholeheartedly, at Gawain more than anything. "Hello, Gawain," he cries. "Just having a bit of fun."

Gawain nods without smiling very much.

Roland looks him up and down. "So you are a knight of Camelot," he says mockingly. Gawain grits his teeth and Lara eavesdrops, bothered by the mocking quality Roland has toward the name Camelot. She pulls her gloves off and puts the sword belt onto her hips loosely.

"I heard that you had succumbed to your nobility," Roland says with a mocking smile. "Thought you hated nobles."  
>Gawain shrugs. "I guess things change."<p>

"Apparently," Roland says. At that thought, he laughs. "Last time I saw you, you were drunk in a brothel with more than a few fists at your head."

Gawain clenches his jaw. "Last time I saw you, you were walking away."

Roland laughs. "You can't expect me to keep you safe all the time, big brother."  
>Lara turns then and begins to walk toward them.<p>

"So the friends of the King," Roland says mockingly. "Is a female archer."  
>Lara looks up at Roland. His eyes are much too interested for her liking.<p>

"And you are Sir Gawain of Camelot's baby brother," she says causing his interest to turn to distaste. "How quaint."

Roland clenches his jaw in the same manner Gawain does. "I suppose King Arthur is allowing women to fight in the tournament," he says.

"And I hardly think it would be fair for me to be participating in the tournament," Lara says blankly.

"Oh, don't sell yourself too short," he says with a half-smile. "You're a good shot—maybe you'd be able to make it difficult for a knight or two."

"No, I mean I would not be fair to the other knights."

Roland raises his brow then lets out a scoffing laugh.

"That's a tad arrogant," Roland says.

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing about you," Lara says, adopting his mocking smile.

Roland glares at her. "A friend of the King's, eh?" he says grimly. "King Arthur must like to keep his friends nearby. Or hold tournaments for them."

"The tournament is being held for a friend, yes—a returned trusted warrior, in fact," Gawain says tartly. "That warrior is the woman before you."

Roland blinks rapidly, looking at Lara with surprised confusion.

"Interesting, isn't it?" Lara says. "I suppose you will be at the feast tonight, Sir Roland. Perhaps then you will be less confused to the situation at hand." Lara motions to move away toward the castle. She looks over her shoulder.

"Gawain," she says. Gawain hasn't moved. "Are you coming?"

"I'll catch up with you," he says.

Lara looks at him cautiously and walks away, slightly worried for Gawain.

"How can a woman be a warrior?" Roland hisses.

"It's a very long story," Gawain says darkly. He looks at the crest on Roland's tunic—black with a blood red falcon shooting through the circle it lies in.

"Have you heard from our sister?" Roland says, again mockingly, hoping to provoke Gawain without giving too much away. "She seems very happy, with her new lifestyle."

"Roland, I warned you about Kasryn Order," Gawain says, ignoring the mentioning of the sister they share.

Roland glares at him. "There is nothing wrong with the order to which I have given my oath," he says defensively.

"It is corrupt and vile," Gawain says. "I told you in Necron's kingdom and now I tell you here—leave the order while you can."

"Just because you were too weak for the order does not mean that I am," Roland growls angrily, his face flushing with fury. "We may share a mother, but we are each more like our fathers—it sets us apart more than you'd like to pretend."

"Your father's Order will be your downfall if you remain there," he says calmly, though he is seething with anger.

"You will not insult my father!" Roland cries. "He is more of a knight than yours ever was. And more than you ever will be."

Roland turns to strut away, leaving Gawain worried for his brother and for himself—Arthur finding his secret.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13—The Loathly Lady

Roland stalks into the Inglewood Forest, just east of the Darkling Woods. He wears a hood, as if ashamed of what he was told to do by his father. He stops by a stream and cups his hands into the clear water. As he looks down at his hands, he sees that they are shaking without him meaning to.

"Knight Roland."

Roland stands, dropping the water and turns with his sword half drawn. He starts at the sight of haggard woman—her face distorted as if with age though her eyes are bright like an angel's. Her clothing is dark as well, torn and worn as if the uglier her clothes the less ugly she would be. She smiles crookedly at Roland, yellow teeth peering at him like square pieces of corn.

"I have earned the fear of the Green Knight," she croaks, smiling. "How quaint."

Roland sheaths his sword, clenching his jaw and bothered by that phrase being referred to him twice in one day by two very different women. He is also unsure of why she calls him the Green Knight.

"You do not have my fear," he says defiantly. "Only my hesitance."

"Surely."

The woman's ugly hand slowly moves into the folds of her garb, Roland's eye following sharply. She pulls a package wrapped in red cloth that looks as old as she and holds it before Roland.

"Give this to your brother as an object of good faith," she says. "Once he bleeds for it, he will find me."

Roland hesitates then takes the package. He feels its weight and thinks that it's a dagger, but it feels strange—different. He looks up at the hag.

"I don't think Gawain would believe me giving him something under good faith," he says.

"Well then figure something out," the hag says calmly, her voice sounding almost amiable.

Roland swallows deeply, unsure of why his father would tell him so abruptly to go to Camelot for this woman. He has never seen her before, but he was hesitant and surprised by his father's demand that he do this.

The hag turns to walk away, to leave Roland in the dark Forest.

"You aren't going to hurt him, are you?" Roland calls.

The hag stops and turns, eyes deeply offended at such an idea. "I wouldn't ever hurt Sir Gawain," she says surely. "Which is more than I can say about you, Green Knight."

Roland swallows deeply as the woman disappears in the darkness. He is unsure why he is being called the Green Knight, and why he is being made to do such things by his father to his half-brother.

—Lara walks down the corridor to go to her new chambers Arthur gave her. Everyone is unsure of what to call her, though most call her Lara. She is of no nobility though she fights better than many knights. Arthur has been telling everyone that she is the daughter of a knight of the west to appease the grumpy nobles, but they cannot lie for long.

Lara stops abruptly when she sees something strange out of the corner of her eye. She turns and growing before her very eyes in a vase was a small cherry blossom tree. She smiles and touches the pink blossoms with her finger tips.

"Not getting lonely are you?" Merlin asks, smiling and standing behind her.

Lara smiles and turns to face him. "Just considering telling Arthur you're at the tavern so you don't have to do his bidding," she jokes.

Merlin's eyes go wide and he smiles as he shakes his head. "Oh yes, that's exactly what I need—a beating from Arthur for going to the tavern again," he says.

"Do you go that often?" she says with a smile.

"It's my go-to excuse when I'm saving Arthur's life," Merlin says. He shrugs. "Not a big deal, don't mind Merlin—saving lives and all, la, la, la…"

Lara laughs. "Don't be so bitter," she says. She looks at the tree in the vase. "Many would give anything to be able to do that…"

Merlin looks at her as she gazes at the beautiful magic. Lara looks up sharply down the hall as they hear voices and footsteps. Merlin recites a spell, squeezing his hand into a fist for good measure, so the cherry blossom tree's lush branches _shoop_ back into the tree and turns sharply back into a seed at the bottom of the vase.

Merlin puts his hands behind his back and smiles brightly as Leon and Elyan come down the hall.

"Lara," Leon cries. "We've been looking for you."

"What for?" she says, holding a little pink cherry blossom in her hand behind her back.

"We need someone with your aim in the training ring," Elyan says. "We're heading there now."

"Don't you have to get ready for the feast?" Lara questions looking at their casual undershirts and absence of the crest of Camelot.

"Yes, I suppose," Elyan says. "But I've made the mistake of making a bet with Leon that I've lost and my payment is him throwing daggers at me. And from what I've heard, you could aim well-enough to get the daggers away from my extremities, were Leon to…miss."

Lara laughs and nods. "I'll ensure Leon doesn't kill you."

"Thank you." Elyan turns to Leon. "It's good to know that _someone_ worries for my well-being."

"Don't be such a woman," Leon says.

"After meeting me, you'd think that expression would change for you," Lara says with a smile. "Go on, I'll catch up with you."

The knights continue on to the training ring and Lara pulls the piece of parchment where she drew Roland's crest on. She holds it up. "Do you recognize this crest?"

Merlin looks at it and frowns. "No, why?"

Lara puts it into his hand. "Ask Gaius and if he doesn't know, find out."

Merlin raises his brow. "Who's crest is it?"

Lara hesitates. She wonders if Gawain wants people to know that his brother his here. "I'll tell you if it matters later," she says. She looks at Leon and Elyan. "I'll see you at the feast," she says swiftly squeezing Merlin's hand and leaving to follow the gambling knights.

—Gawain stands next to Arthur, his eyes drifting over to his brother down the table. He clenches his jaw continuously, muscles in his neck flexing and eyes sharp and wary.

"What's wrong with you, Gawain?" Arthur asks after observing his friend. "You look as though you've seen a ghost."

Gawain hesitates then comes to a decision. "I'm fine." Arthur looks at him uncertainly, recognizing that same expression when Lara lied to him before. As if Gawain carries a dark burden.

The room becomes much more silent as Lara steps through the crowd with Gwyn. She is wearing a new dress that is very becoming and looks at the nobles with stony indifference. She tries to keep Gwyn with her, not completely sure of how she is supposed to act. Arthur smiles and holds his hands out.

"Lara," he says. "Also known as Mortis."

Lara smiles uncertainly and sits next to Arthur, causing the other knights to sit after her. Many of the knights are stunned that Lara is called Mortis.

"I must admit," Sir Bartheon says as the night progresses. He has been speaking to Lara kindly—one of the kindest knights she's met. "I did not expect Mortis to be a woman."

"We were all very surprised," Sir Dresban says a little bitterly.

"I'm sure," Sir Roland butts in, causing Gawain to look up from his barely eaten plate. Roland folds his hands at the table. "Tell me, Mortis—where do you come from exactly?"

Lara glares at Roland and Merlin has half a mind to say something. "The west," she says without emotion.

"Ah, the west is lovely," Roland says mockingly. "Strange for Bronwyn Gorian to go so far from the Isle to find you."

Lara stares at him, her finger nails grinding into the underside of the table. "Yes, well, Bronwyn was a very determined man."

"Oh?" Roland says raising his brow. "I wasn't aware that you killed him."

"Roland," Gawain says. Roland ignores his brother and smiles mockingly at Lara.

"Bronwyn is living," she contradicts. "But he is no longer a determined man."  
>Roland laughs and picks up his goblet filled with wine, raising it to Lara. "He's trained you well then."<p>

"He trained me, alright," she says darkly, her eyes filling with the danger that does not appear often in her often anymore. "That does not mean he did it with the hope of helping _me_."

Roland chuckles and drinks from his goblet. "He was always a selfish man."

"You speak of him as if you knew him," Lara snaps.

"And you speak of him as if he is dead," he says. Lara says nothing and Roland laughs. "I did know him, Mortis," Roland says setting his goblet down and licking the remaining red wine from his lips. "I met him just a few years ago before I was knighted."

"Then you should know that the name Mortis was given to me by him," she says dangerously. "It is a name of morbidity and death that I do not associate with myself any longer."

"Oh, I'm sure that's not entirely true," Roland contradicts laughingly. "I saw you in the training ring today—you are just as lethal as Bronwyn spoke of."

Lara stares at him. "You met him years ago—while I was still under his reign—and spoke of me," she says disbelievingly. "He, no doubt, told you of how he attained me—though not why—and you left without guilt." She stares at him, tilting her head to the side, not realizing that the room was nearly completely silent. "And yet you still had the audacity to take your oath of honor."

"I can't expect you to understand the acts of knights despite your extended stay here," he says. Roland shrugs. "I suppose once a Gorinian, always a Gorinian."

Lara stands abruptly, pushing her chair back with a loud screech. Her finger nails cut deeply into the wood of the table, the splinters numb at her finger tips as they bleed.

"Lara," Arthur says standing as well, catching her elbow. She pushes it away.

"No, Your Majesty, it's all right," Roland says leaning back in his chair. Were he not being rude, sinister and annoyingly clever and were joking, he could be Gawain—that very same Gawain who stood just a half-second after Lara with his hand wrapped around the bolster of his sword.

"If Mortis wishes to throw down a gauntlet—though she obviously does not have one—then allow her too," Roland says holding his arms out. "I welcome a challenge."

"I will not allow you the honor," she says through her teeth though she truly doesn't want to hurt Gawain by killing his sod of a brother.

"Apparently." Roland laughs goes forward in his chair, returning to his food. "Your reflexes are faster than Bronwyn's," he says. Lara's eyes go wide, understanding his meaning. "But I suppose you know that, having _not_ killed him."

"Excuse me please, Lara," Gawain says moving from behind the table and gripping at Roland's shoulder roughly. "I need to speak to my fellow knight alone."

Roland chuckles and stands, pushing his brother's hand away. He stalks arrogantly out of the hall toward the corridors. "It was a grand feast, Mortis," Roland says jovially. "I hope to see you overseeing the tournament tomorrow."

When he's out of sight, Lara is still clutching deeply into the wood of the table, glaring after him. Gawain looks in her eyes.

"I'm deeply sorry, Lara," Gawain says sincerely. He turns to follow after Roland.

Lara is awaked from her hot anger by Gwyn touching her shoulder. She flinches by instinct, shrugging Gwyn away, and sits back in her seat. She folds her fingers into her napkin at her lap as the knights attempt to lighten the air of the room.

Arthur touches her arm but she flinches again away, feeling Merlin's eyes on her as he oversees the feast as a servant.

As the knight continues, Lara wishes briefly that she were a secret again.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14—Debts and Secrets

Gawain pushes Roland's chest when they are alone in the dark corridor.

"Who do you think you are?" Gawain hisses furiously. "You insulted her before a congregation of knights and nobles—do you even _comprehend_ what she has gone through and still has no respect of those men?"

"I may not comprehend as much as you do, brother, but I certainly know more than you," Roland rebukes. "That woman is a defiled piece of flesh that cannot be redeemed through rescuing an ostensible king—even one such as Arthur."

"I will forget you said that," Gawain growls.

"You forget a lot of things," Roland says darkly under his breath. Gawain glares at him in the darkness. "Such as your oath to my father."

"That oath indicated honor—honor which your father ordered me to abandon," Gawain says angrily. "Therefore that _oath_ was made invalid." He looks at his brother, quoting their mother. "Only truth can fill the heart with honor and glory, not distrust."

"You have a debt to pay to my father that cannot be appeased by the words of our mother!" Roland cries.

"You speak of the revenge that he wishes to bestow upon me for going against his order," Gawain says, sounding rather hurt. He looks at his brother curiously. "You want revenge on me—your own brother."

"You cannot not begin to relate to me," Roland hisses. "You have only half of my blood."

Roland pushes past Gawain. "Ouch," Gawain hisses, holding the back of his hand that is bleeding.

Roland looks back at his brother, seeing the cut that he purposely made, and pulled the dagger from his side. It is clear—through and through from blade to handle—and made of fine glass. Gawain's blood is bright and shining in the darkness on the blade. Roland tosses it to Gawain, who catches it and stares after his brother.

"Keep it—it's been tainted by your father's blood," he says darkly.

As Roland stalks away, hiding his distaste for doing the hag's bidding, Gawain wraps his bleeding hand and wipes the dagger clean. He shakes his head at his brother's disappearing figure, sorry for inadvertently making him feel betrayed.

—The sun has barely begun to break over the horizon as Merlin goes out to the training ring. He heard muffled grunts and angry shots and Arthur called him from his chambers to investigate.

Merlin sobers when he sees who it is, slashing and dashing through the field with steel and arrow.

Lara throws another dagger harshly at the tree that has sorely been chosen to be her target. The wood is chipped to pulp and a great white hole where she has pierced it is prominent. She stalks angrily back to the tree and pulls the dagger from it. Then she tosses said dagger to the side and looks at the tree trunk. She swallows deeply and then begins punching it furiously.

Lara pounds her fists into the trunk, splinters and leaves flying all around her and wood digging into her numb and white knuckles. Her face is contorted into anger—frustration and hatred. Hatred that Bronwyn used to use to fuel her in battle.

"Lara," Merlin says coming up to her quickly.

But Lara ignores him and continues to pound at the tree. After one large swing, she stops with her fists still closed.

"I can't escape it," she cries. "I can't get away as hard as I try—it always follows me."

Merlin knows what she's talking about and allows her to speak. She punches the trunk again once.

"When I was a child I used to dream of leaving the Gorinians behind and starting a new life," she growls angrily. "No one would remember but me. And for a moment, I thought that—because everyone knows—I wouldn't be treated as a weapon. As a _sword_—_meaning to be_—_swung_!"

At each of those last words she punches the tree. She breathes heavily, her throat feeling clogged and head pounding with blood.

"Come here," Merlin says softly.

Lara sits on the ground instead, not quite following his order. Merlin goes over to her and sits in front of her. He takes her fists and holds them out before him. He gently opens her fingers from clenching into her palm and examines them.

Her knuckles are white and red, bloodied with splinters and dead skin limp around the muscled and bony hands. He sighs and raises his hand over hers.

"It's no use," she says bitterly. "Nothing will work on me."

"No, not on you," Merlin agrees. Then he recites a short, gentle spell and the splinters rise from her hands. She winces at the discomfort but her knuckles feel less tense a second later. The bloody splinters fall into his hand and he tosses them away in the grass.

Then Merlin blows softly on her stinging wounds and his eyes glow—the dead skin that was technically no longer a part of her flies away, leaving just Lara's clean wounded skin.

"How could you stand it for so long?" she says softly. "You have such a gift, yet you've kept it from your friends since you've met them."

"The same way you did," Merlin says simply.

"Mine isn't a gift, Merlin," she says calmly. "If I hadn't kept it a secret, the Gorinians would have been upon us much sooner than before."

"And if everyone knew _now_, Arthur would kill me and all others would feel betrayed," Merlin says.

"You've saved Arthur's life thousands of times," she says. "And besides—I wouldn't allow Arthur to kill you."

Merlin smiles. "Glad someone will have my back before execution."

Lara ignores his comment, not wanting to venture on the thought of him dying. "You disguised yourself in Glastonbury," she says. Merlin looks up. "Arthur accepted Kellan wholeheartedly."

"I didn't realize you knew it was me," Merlin says. "How were you not fooled and Arthur wasn't?"

"People see what they want to," Lara says. "And the fact that I've been trained as a Gorinian assassin helps."

"Apparently," Merlin says. He ties her knuckles with pieces of cloth tenderly. "And had Arthur known, he would have felt betrayed."

"You weren't betrayed when you found out I'm Mortis," Lara points out.

"Yes, well that's different."

"How?"

"Arthur is my king and he's just my friend, you're—"

Merlin's mouth snaps shut before he finishes his sentence. Lara looks at his eyes steadily and then Merlin looks down sharply. Lara sees something out of the corner of her eye and her head snaps to the side.

"What was that?" Lara says.

"I'm not sure if I should say it," Merlin says, looking down at her knuckles that need tending.

"No, over there," Lara says standing up. She scans the area carefully, but there is nothing in sight again. Merlin stands with her.

"What did you see?" he asks.

Lara frowns. "I'm not sure," she says quietly. She presses her lips together and flexes her sore hands.

"I need to get back to Arthur," Merlin says as he looks at the sun's placement in the sky. "He needs to get ready for the tournament—he and Leon are opening the tournament."

Lara nods and stares at where she thought she saw a figure for a fleeting moment.

"I'll see you then," Merlin says.

Lara looks back at him and he smiles and nods to her. Then he walks away, making Lara feel slightly cold and as if their conversation was unfinished.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15—Let the Dealing Begin

Lara frowns when she looks in the mirror and sees how Gwyn put her hair. It is up high with a bunch of purple flowers in it that match her dress.

"Hm," Gwyn says unsurely looking at her work. "I think it's a tad big."

"A tad big?" Lara says incredulously. "It looks like I have an extra head growing!"

"You're over exaggerating," Gwyn says, smiling to herself and touching the sides of Lara's brown hair. "It's really not that bad."

Someone knocks on the door and Lara opens her mouth to protest but Gwyn says "Come in" anyway.

Arthur comes in and his face goes from seriously to incredulous laughter. He covers his face, turning his back to push his laughter back into himself, and straightens, a forced face of seriousness strange on his lips. Gwyn looks down at Lara and sees her friend glaring at her lethally.

"You look truly lovely, Lara," he chokes with laughter shaking his voice.

"Arthur," Gwyn chides. "She looks lovely in purple."

"It wasn't the purple he was laughing at," Lara says pulling the flowers from her hair. "It was the bloody bee hive on my head!"

"Now look what you've done, Arthur!" Gwyn cries as she herself suppresses a smile.

"Oh, come on, Guinevere," Arthur says gesturing toward Lara. "She looks ridiculous."

"What do you want, Arthur?" Lara snaps.

Arthur chuckles. "I just wanted to ask you if you were in the armory last night."

Lara frowns deeply and stands. She begins to take off the ridiculous pins and flowers. "Why would I be in the armory?"

"I dunno," Arthur says shrugging. "I suspected that's where you hid that relic."

Lara scoffs. "God no-why would I hide the Embolis in the armory?" she laughs again. "With so many trained men going in and out the entire world would be taken over."

Arthur frowns.

"Besides," Lara continues tossing a ribbon that was wrapped around her neck and putting it on the table. "The Embolis can not longer be taken to anyone."

"Why not?" Arthur asks. Lara's face becomes serious-she will never tell him that Merlin has it instilled in his flesh, bone and blood.

"That's not something you will ever have to worry about, Arthur," she says. "Trust me."

Arthur eyes her. "Then who was in the armory last night? A guard said they saw a woman go in."

Lara presses her lips together and pulls up the hem of her dress to put a dagger in her boot. Gwyn sighs hopelessly.

"I'll investigate and let you know," she says. "I have someone who might help with that."

Arthur frowns. "Who?"

Lara sighs, stands erect with her shoulders held back. She looks at Arthur seriously. "Like I said, Arthur-it's something you never have to worry about." Lara walks forward toward the door when Arthur grabs her arm sharply.

"Arthur," Gwyn says startled.

Lara's hand dashes immediately to Arthur's and grips it. She almost breaks his wrist when she looks up and remembers he is Arthur-her friend and King.

"How can I trust you when you don't tell me anything?" he almost growls.

Lara stares at him and pushes his hand away. She stares forward. "You've been speaking to the Gorinians," she says. She looks over her shoulder. "So there are still a few left?"

"One," Arthur says darkly. "The other two killed themselves with magic."

"And not the other?" Lara says aloud. She begins to walk forward. "Show me."

"We have the tournament to open," Arthur reminds her.

"It is in my honor, is it not?" she says as Arthur follows her down the corridor. "And besides-what tournament in Camelot could not start without the blessing of King Arthur?"

-Lara walks down the corridor toward the end of the dungeons. Her posture is straight and serious while her expression is lethal, unyielding. Arthur follows her and at his call the guards open the door to the last Gorinian's cell.

The assassin's bowed head looks up and a crooked smile grows on the man in his late twenties' face. Lara stares at him blankly.

"Mortis," he says darkly. "I was wondering when you'd come."

Lara steps forward slowly, appraising him like a weapon.

"I see Camelot has treated you nicely," the assassin says. "I suppose you have the crown to thank for that."

"Why are you still here, Roddick?" she says roughly, without mercy.

Roddick grins. "Why, to see again, of course," he says as if it were obvious. "Remember the last time I saw you, you were standing over Bran's dead body."

Lara stares at him, feeling Arthur's discomfort. "Bronwyn was not happy," Roddick goes on. "He sent me and several others after you, but it didn't take long to realize you were long gone."

"He was fond of the idea of Bran and I spawning little weapons for him," she says harshly. "But you still haven't answered my question."  
>Lara suddenly grabs Roddick's throat. He chokes when her thumb presses a particular place and she pulls back, allowing him to breathe and speak. "Why are you still here?" she hisses into his face.<p>

"Lara," Arthur warns.

Lara ignores him. "You're magic was always proficient," she says. "Not the best, but certainly not the worst. Good enough to get you out of Camelot."

"Maybe I've lost my touch," Roddick hisses.

Lara grabs a handful of his hair and pushes her thumb into the underside of his throat. He croaks loudly in pain and Lara pulls back.

"Lara," Arthur warns again.

"You've been at this for nearly ten years," she says harshly. "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Oh, the last thing I think of you is stupid," Roddick chokes. "But I also know you're keeping secrets from this king."

"Sometimes secrets are a necessity to prevent people from getting hurt," Lara says.

"Is that right?" Roddick mocks. "Like how you were secretly meeting with that dragon before you left."

Lara stares at him and Arthur is utterly surprised. "You followed me."

"All the time, love," Roddick hisses. "You're lucky Bran told me to keep quiet until after your wedding night."

Lara shoves her elbow upward at Roddick's chin.

"Lara!" Arthur cries angrily.

"You do things your way-I'll do them mine, Arthur!" Lara cries angrily.

Roddick laughs and spits blood to the ground. "I always knew you had spirit, Mortis," he laughs. "Too back Bran never knew, or he would have had you years ago."

Lara grips Roddick's jaw. The assassin laughs.

"If I were to leave now, I wouldn't be able to see how this unfolds," he says. He grins. "See how you function-how you'll survive keeping secrets and pretending you are good in this kingdom. I've seen you murder more brutally than I ever had the stomach to. Do not pretend you are higher than I."

Lara glares at him. "I could kill you in a single stroke," she threatens.

"Go ahead," Roddick chuckles. Lara pushes his head back and turns to leave the dungeon. "Go back to your old ways!" Roddick calls from his cell. "Allow the hate that Bronwyn instilled in you-show your King who you really are!"

Lara is out of the dungeons before Arthur. She stalks toward where the tournament is taking place, not wanting to deal with Arthur right then.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16—Rage and Raspberries

Lara's expression in unreadable from where Merlin stands. The tournament has begun—Arthur and Leon opened and Arthur won by a landslide. Now, as Sir Roland and Elyan are readying themselves, Lara has no formalities that need attending. She does not need to announce anything anymore and nor does Arthur. But Arthur does sit on a higher chair next to Lara. They do not look at each other and Merlin wonders what Arthur did.

"What's wrong with Lara and Arthur?" Gaius asks Merlin. Merlin shrugs.

"Dunno."

Arthur turns his head toward Lara, as if to say something, but she opens her mouth sharply with her eyes lethal, shutting Arthur's mouth immediately.

"God hath no fury like a woman's scorn," Gaius says.

"God hath no fury like Lara," Merlin corrects.

Elyan and Roland stand against each other. Roland's armor is fine—black and sinister against the blood red symbol of his order's crest. As the storm toward each other, their lances turning downward into a cradle so they may hit their opponent, Elyan stares into Roland's eyes. They are seething and dark.

Lara watches. She gasps and stands just a half of a second before Roland's lance un-horses Elyan.

The crowd reacts with surprise at the fallen knight. A piece of the shattered lance sticks out of Elyan's shoulder. He cries out in pain.

Lara jumps from the stands and Arthur follows. Lara kneels by Elyan's head and takes off his helmet. Gaius kneels as well and reaches for the piece of lance.

"No," Lara cries taking Gaius' hand gently and pushing it away. "If you take it out, he'll bleed to death."

"Well, we can't just leave it there," Arthur says.

"Get it out of me!" Elyan cries, breathing rapidly.

"Stop struggling, Elyan," Merlin pleads, holding the knight's arms down.

"Get it out!" Elyan yells, still struggling. "Get it out!"

Lara thrusts her elbow roughly at Elyan's head, knocking him unconscious. Everyone looks at her with surprise.

She shrugs. "He was annoying me," she says simply.

Lara then presses her hand against the corners around the wound. "What are you doing?" Gaius asks, unsure of her method.

"Sh," she hushes. Then Lara quickly jabs her right elbow into Elyan's left shoulder while pulling the piece of wood from his right. A blood bubble pops at the top of the wound and Lara sinks a ribbon Gwyn gave her into the wound, stopping it in its place.

"He's not bleeding out," Gaius says with surprise.

"Not for long," she says quickly. "Give him very little milk of the poppy and make that mixture I told you about. It will clot the blood until the splinters can be taken out."

Lara stands suddenly then and turns to face Roland who is still on his horse in full armor. She looks at his lance, broken in shards. He thrust it just a few inches from where Elyan would have certainly died.

"Do you not like the tournament, Mortis?" Roland cries. "Too brutal for the Gorinian assassin?"

Lara pulls Arthur's sword from his sheath and stalks toward Roland.

"Lara!" Arthur cries. Lara pushes his chest with the heel of her hand and glares at him, stopping him in his tracks.

Lara turns the sword in her hand and heads of Roland. Roland's eyes flash with fear and he jumps from his horse, dropping his broken lance and taking off his helmet. He calls to his squire who throws him his sword.

"It is an unfair fight," Roland says holding his sword with both hands. "You have no armor."

"I haven't worn armor since I was six," she says darkly. "And you're right-"Lara's sword rings out audibly when it clashes with Roland's. She slides her blade down the length of his and snaps his wrist backward. He lets go of his sword and Lara takes it, holding both together and touching his neck with the sides of the blades. He breathes heavily as the crowd watches. "It isn't a fair fight."

Then another sword slides in between Lara's swords and Roland's neck, pulling Roland's close encounter with death away. Lara looks at Gawain who is pointing his sword at Lara's face. She looks at him angrily.

"You defend him!" Lara cries.

"He is my brother," Gawain says simply.

Lara stares at Gawain's complacent face. She holds the swords strongly in her hands.

"Lara," Merlin says behind her softly. "Don't do anything Bronwyn would want you to do."

Lara's spine shoots with electricity. After a long moment of deep silence and heat, Lara throws her swords on either side of Gawain and Roland. Roland jumps, Gawain remains calm.

Then Lara turns on her heel and marches toward the castle.

—Lara lies on the floor of her chamber. The ground is cold stone and the ceiling is plain—it does not start her mind. She has one hand pressed to her forehead and the other toying with a knife.

A soft knock on the door comes as the tip of the knife pierces a small hole in the middle of Lara's forefinger.

"Enter," she says unemotionally.

Merlin comes in and looks down, thrown by her position on the ground. He shuts the door behind him and walks over to her.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"Dancing."

Merlin blinks at her tart answer. Then he sighs and lies down next to her. He stares at the ceiling with her without a word.

"Do you like raspberries?" he asks suddenly.

Lara blinks finally. "I wouldn't know," she sighs. "I've never had any."

"Well that's unfortunate."

"Merlin," Lara sighs with frustration.

"Lara."

"I can't control myself sometimes," she admits. "I know that Arthur probably wanted you to tell me that I went too far—that I shouldn't do that."

"I wasn't going to say that," Merlin says. "Nor did Arthur tell me to."

"What did he tell you to say?"

"He only wanted to know if you were all right," he says simply. "Sir Roland has been taunting you since his arrival—and you were angry he hurt Elyan."

"You were too," Lara points out. "Yet you still don't use your magic against him."

"Oh, I wanted to," Merlin says with a smile. "Believe me—I wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face. But then you did it for me when you picked up a sword."

"You don't understand," Lara says standing abruptly and tossing the dagger into the fireplace so it gleams in the dusty remains of last night's fire.

"I understand more than anyone, Lara," Merlin says sitting up and gazing at her almost childish frustration.

"No you don't," Lara disagrees. "Your ability is beautiful—it can save lives and has saved lives. It will bring about a beautiful time where Arthur rules a great kingdom and where all that are magical will be free. Mine has brought nothing but destruction."

"Your abilities have saved lives," Merlin says seriously. "It will save lives. It will keep the kingdom Arthur rules safe and full of strength and courage that magic can never conjure."

Lara presses her lips together and Merlin stands, looking at her seriously. Stubbornly, Lara crosses her arms. Merlin sighs and stands by the table.

"Roland's crest is of the Kasryn Order," Merlin says calmly. Lara swallows and looks down. The name strikes a chord with her, but she can't place it just yet.

"And Lara." Lara looks up at Merlin. "Just because your abilities can be called destructive, doesn't make that one who yields it less beautiful and good."

Lara blinks rapidly and Merlin looks at her seriously. Then he cups his hand on the table, reciting a spell so his eyes glow and the tattoo of the Embolis on his back does as well. He leaves her chambers and where his hand has been was a small, bright red raspberry sitting on a green leaf as if it were a throne.

-Roland presses his lips together, angry and frustrated by being beaten by a woman. Even if she was a Gorinian assassin.

The hag smiles at him, displaying ugly teeth. "You are turning Greener by the minute, Green Knight," she comments.

"What do you want?" he asks having waited for her in the forest for over an hour.

"Challenge the assassin to a fight," she says. "Throw the gauntlet down before the Death Woman."

Roland stares at her. "Gladly," he says.

"Good," she says smiling. "But do not kill her-do not injure her. She must be at her best."

"For what?"

The loathly lady sighs. "It is not of your concern, Green Knight," she says. "Do as you are told or your father will hear of your lack of cooperation. You do not want to make your father unhappy, do you?"

Roland says nothing. Once the hag is gone, leaving him with no explanation, he swallows and stalks back toward the castle, angry and unsure.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17—The Noble Knight

Gawain waits with his back leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his vast chest and face unreadable. Hasty footsteps approach and Gawain steps in front of Roland. His younger brothers starts, thrown by surprise. Then his face turns angry.

"What are you doing here?" Roland sneers.

"I wanted to see where you were," Gawain says simply.

"Well, I'm here," he snaps. He goes to walk past Gawain but Gawain stops him.

"Why are you walking away from me again?" Gawain asks. "I haven't done anything to offend you."

"You broke your oath to my father," Roland yells back.

Gawain stares at him with an unfathomable expression. "Did Marsden tell you what he asked me to do?" he says calmly.

"He asked you to kill the lord in Odin's court who killed his wife," Roland sneers. "My stepmother Tarya was a good woman—she was nothing but good to you and you denied avenging her."  
>Gawain shakes his head. "Your father told me to kill the Lady Lorena—Odin's niece," he says with so much calm it nearly startles Roland. The younger knight blinks. "She denied him and told your stepmother. Tarya confronted her husband, your father, and in his anger he killed her. He blamed it on that lord so I would have reason to go to Odin's court and assassinate Lady Lorena." Roland blinks rapidly, thrown by the newness of the information. "I refused to kill her—she'd done no wrong. When I did, your father called me an oathbreaker and I left. You thought me a traitor, everyone else a womanizing drunk. And so I took that persona—no one would expect a dead noble's son to be a warrior who broke his fealty to another man. And they expect it even less from a knight of Camelot."<p>

Roland shakes his head. "You're lying," he declares.

"My biggest mistake was not telling you this myself before," Gawain says full of sorrow. He looks up at his brother. "But now you will make your biggest mistake if you continue to follow Marsden."

"He is my father!" Roland declares.

"And he was my lord!" Gawain cries. "But honor comes before duty—and in Marsden's mind both are shit in comparison to his wants. He is no better than Bronwyn Gorian."

Roland pulls a knife from his side and presses the blade to Gawain's throat—Gawain is calm.

"You take that back," he hisses between his teeth.

"You knew Bronwyn Gorian," Gawain says calmly. He looks at Roland. "Marsden sent you to train with them didn't he?"

Roland says nothing.

"He's turning you into his very own assassin," Gawain says simply.

Roland pushes Gawain back so the blade nicks his brother's throat very slightly. Roland points at him with his knife, glaring at him.

"If you ever speak to me like that again I will slit your throat without hesitation," he threatens.

Roland turns on his heel and stalks down the corridor, holding his knife roughly and with anger seething through his veins.

—Lara walks down the corridor toward the throne room where Arthur is. She opens the doors without emotion and the men inside stop talking to look at her. She regards them and looks to Arthur.

"Yes, Lara?" Arthur says without emotion.

Lara swallows, not allowing her pride to get in the way of her friendships. "I wanted to apologize for my actions lately, sire" she says. "I…I was thrown by what Roddick—the assassin—said in the dungeons and could not control my anger in regards to Sir Roland of Kasryn. It has shown you disrespect and I am sorry for that."

Arthur smiles. "You do not have to call me Sire, Lara," Arthur says. "You are a very good friend that does not need such formalities. Sir Roland went too far and had he said something similar to me he surely would not be the happiest prisoner."

Lara laughs with Arthur briefly. "You can make it up to me by doing me a favor," Arthur says.

"Oh?" Lara says raising her brow. "What would that—?"

The doors to the throne room open with a bang. Roland storms through a knife in his fist and his eyes dark and angry. Lara stares at him without emotion until he throws a gleaming black gauntlet from his armor before Lara.

The room echoes with tension and silence. Lara looks at the gauntlet stoically and looks back up regally at Roland's frantic eyes.

"What are you doing?" Lara says simply.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Roland cries angrily.

"I understand that you trained very briefly with the Gorinians a few years ago," Lara says calmly. "But that does not make you as good as a Gorinian assassin."

Roland says nothing.

"Sir Roland, please," Arthur says.

"Roland," Gawain says coming into the throne room. He pleads to his brother, holding his hand out and looking at the gauntlet on the ground. He looks up at Lara—her lethality and danger. She has not learned much mercy in her life and Roland barely deserves any. "Roland—stop! This won't prove anything."

"You cannot order me around, brother," Roland growls.

"I'm not ordering you—I'm asking you! Don't do this," Gawain implores.

"_Shut up Gawain_!" Roland shouts. His jaw is clench and his fists turn his knuckles white.

"Listen to your brother, Sir Roland," Lara says calmly.

"You speak as if I cannot win," Roland says darkly. "I surely stopped your knight Elyan in his tracks."

Lara blinks and kneels. She gently picks up the gauntlet in her hands without her eyes leaving Roland's.

"I accept your challenge, Sir Roland of Kasryn," she says calmly.

"We fight at sunset," Roland growls. He turns on his heel out of the throne room.

Lara exhales and Gawain goes up to her, grabbing her arms and yelling in her face.

"How could you do this to me?" he screams angrily.

Lara pushes Gawain's chest forward away from her. "You did all you could!" she yells. "Would you have taken this gauntlet yourself? Would you be able to kill your brother, Gawain?"

Gawain says nothing and looks to Arthur. "Arthur—please."

"I'm sorry, Gawain," Arthur says. "It's out of my hands."

Gawain turns angrily out of the throne room as well. Lara exhales again and presses her hand to her forehead. She sighs and drops her hand.

"What was that favor, Arthur?" she asks the conversation seeming millions of years away.

Arthur sighs and says, "It can wait."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18—Beauty with Poison

Roland waits in the ring, his sword pressed down to the dirt vertically and his armor on completely. Lara, wearing her fighting attire and no armor other than the flint shields she made on her arms, walks slowly and carefully into the ring. The sky is painted orange yet the scene still seems dark.

Lara sighs and looks up to Merlin in the stands, eyes lingering then to Arthur. Roland holds his sword up. Lara sees Gawain walking with uncertainty and restlessness by Arthur and the other knights—Leon and Percival were charged with keeping him from interfering with the fight.

After seeing Gawain's face, Lara pulls the sword at her back off and tosses it lazily out of the way. She turns the other sword in her hand—Arthur got both swords made for her. Their balances are distinctly different from other swords. Their designs are feminine and they match. They were a gift for saving Gwyn, Arthur, Merlin, all the knights of Camelot, and Camelot herself.

The sword turns slowly in her gloved hand.

"Don't do me any favors by tossing your second sword away," Roland says.

"It wasn't for you," Lara tells him. She glances up at Gawain and then back down at the eager and frustrated knight.

Roland swallows and he charges Lara. She raises her sword to block his blow from above and pushes his breastplate with her hand so he stumbles backward. He is holding his sword with both of his hands and she holds hers almost lazily with one hand.

"Go on, Mortis!" Roland yells, waiting for the hag to follow through with her plans. "Hit me!"

Lara swallows and steps slowly forward. Roland strikes swiftly at her and she blocks every blow. She does not make and blows of her own—Roland is good, almost as good as his brother, but he is stronger than he is fast. He is actually slow for a man in armor. Lara blocks a blow from Roland and slides her hand down the length of her blade so she can elbow his hand, letting his sword fly in the air. Roland, without a weapon, punches Lara's stomach as his sword lifts in the air.

Merlin stands as Lara grunts at the blow and clenches his fists. Roland takes his sword from the ground and raises it to strike Lara. He only had less than a second to act—the give Lara a fatal blow—when he stops, his sword hesitating in the air. Lara looks up at him, fully recovered and has her sword at the ready. She stares at him, her hand bleeding through her glove from her own blade.

"You can still stop, Roland," she says.

Roland shakes his head, looking like a hurt child.

"No I can't," he whispers.

Lara blinks rapidly as she feels a strange lingering around her hand. She looks down at her hand—her bleeding cut is purple around the edges and burning insatiably. She feels her breathing begin to quicken and her vision blurring. She looks up at Roland. He is looking at her wounds too—in confusion. She shakes faintly without control.

"Someone poisoned my blades," she says in a breathy voice to him. Roland blinks rapidly in utter confusion. He looks over Lara's shoulder then.

"Lara—look out!" Merlin cries.

Lara turns on her heel and raises her sword just in time to block a sword about to clash down on her head. The sword blades are before her face as she leans back at her attacker's strength, in the fading light she sees his face.

"The Gorinian assassin has escaped!" Arthur calls to his knights.

The knights begin to descend when Lara pushes Roddick's sword away and they begin to fight. Their swords clash rapidly so the setting sun's rays dance like white fire. Roddick elbows Lara's right shoulder and she cries out—he hit a nerve so she can barely feel that arm. Her eyes flutter and she feels weak as the poison spreads through her blood stream. Her bones feel like they are vibrating and her heart is beating rapidly. Blood drips from her hand down her arm. The ground is dotted with her dark and thick blood.

Roddick pushes her back of a few steps and looks at her with his head tilted.

"Feeling a little under the weather, Mortis?" he mocks. He strikes at Lara who blocks it, but then Roddick punches her jaw, knocking her over. Her sword hangs loosely in her hand as she struggles to stay alert.

"Lara!" Merlin cries jumping out of the stands to help her. But as he runs forward Roddick turns with his sword raised to Merlin.

"_No_!" Lara screams huskily. She pushes herself up and slides her sword through Roddick's calf. The assassin screams out and turns back to Lara on the ground. He raises his sword again but his eyes turn solid and surprised. A sword sticks bloody and shining out of his stomach. He falls to the ground and Roland drops Lara's sword, bloody with the Gorinian's remnants, to the ground.

Lara begins to lose consciousness as Merlin goes to her side. Gawain goes to an unsteady Roland.

"Lara," Merlin says. He puts his hand on her stomach, as if to help her with magic. Then he remembers it would do nothing.

He picks up her hand and sees the bloody cut—the edges of her cut skin is purple.

"Gaius," Merlin calls helplessly.

Roland kneels slowly by her and takes her hand, looking at the cut. Her hand shakes with exhaustion and pain. Then Roland looks at her abandoned swords.

"Someone poisoned her swords," he says calmly. "The milk of pathendyan root. It quickens the heart and so the blood of the wound never clots. She'll bleed out if it isn't stopped." Gawain gazes at his brother wondering about what Marsden Kasryn ordered him to do.

"The intruder in the armory," Arthur says aloud.

"Gaius is there an antidote?" Merlin asks frantically.

"I have bagalia tree sap that can stop the bleeding," Gaius says. Lara's eyes flutter wildly as she tries to fight the strong poison. "But the only antidote is with blumwren petals."

"Where can we find them?" Arthur demands. The men look at Lara who had made a whimpering sound, her mouth opening and closing. Everyone is sad to see her so helpless.

"In the Inglewood forest, but you must be quick," Gaius warns, tearing his eyes away from Lara's face. He touches her forehead which is heating up and sweating. She continues to try to talk, but only faint sounds come from her throat. "She has a mere three hours until the poison and blood kills her."

"We'll leave immediately," Arthur says strongly. "Merlin—stay with Lara. Sir Roland—you come, too."

Roland nods and he follows Arthur's knights toward horses the ride for the Inglewood Forest.

Merlin touches Lara's face as her eyes move wildly under her lids. Sometimes she opens them a little, displaying the lively blue, but then her weakness pushes it back. Gaius presses a rag to her ever-bleeding hand and they take her to Gaius' chambers.

All are silent as they watch the mighty Mortis being carried through Camelot.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19—Cures and Curses with Conditions

The knights and Arthur go quickly to the Inglewood Forest, faces all grave and serious. They jump from their horses and look around the find the flower that Gaius described for them.

"Careful where you step," Arthur calls

Roland swallows, face feeling hot and unsure if what he did alters what the hag intended. She must have poisoned Lara's sword—and she must have released the Gorinian assassin. But why? Did she know that Roland couldn't control himself in saving Lara?

Gawain watches the ground for the flower, walking aimlessly but with purpose. He walks away from the other knights to search in other places for the flower. He looks up frantically around by a lake. Angrily, he cannot see the flower anywhere.

"Do not fret, good knight."

Gawain turns, drawing his sword, and sees the ugly old hag with bright eyes. She smiles at him pleasantly with ugly teeth.

"I have the last blumwren flower left in this forest," the woman says.

Gawain blinks rapidly, unsure of how she knows this. He puts his sword away and reaches his hand out.

"Please—give it to me," he pleads. "A dear friend of mine's life is at stake."

"I am aware that the Death woman is hurt," she says slowly. Guilt dashes across her ugly face for a moment.

Gawain ignores her all-knowing nature. "Give it to me—please."

"I will, Sir Knight, if you do something for me," she says without emotion.

Gawain blinks rapidly. "I'll do anything," he says frantically. He feels at fault—had Roland not been so angry with him, they might never have fought. Whoever poisoned Lara's swords knew her fighting style—it was probably the Gorinian assassin, Gawain thinks. But regardless, he could have stopped all this from happening if he hadn't been too hopeful for his brother's goodness.

The hag smiles a little, guilt still dashing across her face occasionally. "I will give you the flower so you may save your friend the Death woman," she says. She pauses. "If you marry me."

Gawain stares at her, utterly surprised and flustered. He looks at her—she is repulsive. But he also thinks of Lara—how she has saved his life many times. Also of Merlin, his face were she to die. Merlin was so destroyed when he thought Lara was dead…Gawain can't look at his friend's face like that again.

The other knights come toward the lake and see Gawain with the hag. They are silent as Gawain begins to bend on his knee.

"Upon my honor as a knight of Camelot," he says proudly, sounding very knightly indeed. "If you give me to the flower to save Lara I will marry you. You have my word."

All the knights and Arthur are startled by his sincerity. Roland stares from Gawain to the hag—was this her plan all along?

The woman smiles gently. "Thank you, good knight," she says calmly.

—Gawain shoves the petals into Gaius' hand. The physician puts it in a bowl and begins to mix the antidote. Lara is shaking uncontrollably on the cot and Merlin is helplessly at her side.

"So that is the face of the Death woman," the loathly lady says from the entrance of the physician's chambers. All but Merlin look at her. The hag smiles slightly, displaying brief amiability. "She is very beautiful."

Gawain turns back to Lara and sits next to Merlin. He puts his hand on his friend's shoulder for support. Gwyn chews on her lip and curls into Arthur with her brow furrowed with worry. The serum is finished and Gaius gently pours the antidote into Lara's cut that was still bleeding. Then he has her drink the remainder of the antidote.

Lara's shaking begins to slow and she settles. The wound turns a more natural color and she stops bleeding. Everyone exhales—including the loathly lady.

Gaius puts his fingers to Lara's neck and sighs. "The poison has been destroyed," he says wiping sweat from his brow. "She will sleep it off and come to around morning."

Merlin squeezes Lara's hand and Gawain falls backward in his chair. He sighs loudly and runs his hands through his hair.

"Where is Sir Roland?" Merlin asks in a hoarse voice.

"He's probably halfway back to Kasryn Castle by now," the loathly lady says bitterly.

Everyone looks to her.

"Why do you say that?" Gawain says darkly.

"Because he is the Green Knight," she says simply. "He has always been jealous of his brother and always will be. Even now when he sees that his brother has more the fight for than he, he is bitter and seething with unjust revenge."

Everyone stares at her. "Who _are_ you?" Gwyn says suddenly.

The woman smiles very slightly, almost feebly. "I am Ragnelle," she says. "Sir Gawain's betrothed."  
>All exchange glances. The woman smiles and lets out a small giggle. "Anyone willing to officiate?"<p>

—The preparations begin for the wedding of Gawain and Ragnelle. All who asked know the story—Sir Gawain gave Ragnelle his word to marry her so he could save Lara, the Gorinian assassin. Arthur is to officiate and all are attending, including the healing Elyan and recovered Lara.

On the day of their wedding, Roland, hooded and dark, is on his horse outside of Camelot. He has returned from asking his father why he followed the woman's orders—because she had magic and enchanted him to ordering Roland to go to Camelot. He is unsure if he should go back—to see his brother's wedding he was forced to going into.

Roland turns his horse and rides away, feeling marriage to a hag was justice enough for the lies Gawain told.

Ragnelle looks positively hideous in her wedding gown. But Gawain is stoic as they make their vows. When Gawain places Ragnelle's ring on her finger, she smiles, her bright eyes shining.

"Poor Gawain," Percival says to Lara who stands next to him. "I feel sorry for him."

Lara looks at Ragnelle—such ugliness seems so impossible. The woman's eyes are bright and she is so kind and amiable. Lara's brow furrows until she sees the joy on Ragnelle's eyes. Then she grins from ear to ear.

"Don't," she says. Percival sighs and shakes his head, thinking Lara might be a little slow since her poisoning.

—After the less than festive feast, Gawain and Ragnelle go to their chambers. They are quiet and Gawain holds her wrinkled hand awkwardly. Once they reach the chambers, Ragnelle smiles at Gawain and nods to him.

"I will change," she says.

She goes behind the screen and Gawain sits on their bed. He decides to be a dutiful husband on his wedding night—even if she is a repulsive hag, it is his sacred vow. And he will only break a vow when it is unjust—this is just. Ragnelle saved Lara's life, and Gawain will pay for it.

The sun sets under the horizon, making the room dim in the firelight as Gawain takes off his shoes and tunic. He hears Ragnelle climb into the bed. He turns solemnly to face his haggardly wife and his eyes go wide.

She is positively radiant.

Her ugliness has melted away. She has long raven hair that shines like obsidian down her back. Her skin is glowing like the sun and her eyes are the same—bright and alluring.

Ragnelle smiles at him as he looks at her beauty, at her radiance in her night gown.

"I was cursed by a sorcerer for denying him," she says with a smile. She touches Gawain's face with her soft, youthful hand. "It could only be broken by my marrying a good knight loyal to his word." Her smile fades softly. "I am sorry that I deceived you." She continues to tell him how she enchanted Marsden, Roland's father, so that Roland could get it him. Also how she found that the only way to get him to marry her was if he gave her his word so that she may save his friend's life. Lara was just the easiest the get to—what with the Gorinian assassin still being in the castle. She told Gawain about the glass dagger—it was magical and if he bled on it, he would surely find her once he was in Inglewood forest. She told him everything.

"I am sorry I created so much sorrow for you," she says with sadness. "The Green Knight…he has so much anger in him. He was only supposed to keep Lara out in the open long enough in the ring for the assassin to come. She was more likely to use her technique with the assassin than with the Green Knight—but he was so _angry. _He was angry that she gained everything he could not…"

She looks up at him with lovely, sorrowful eyes. "I am truly sorry, my husband, for making you so unhappy."

Gawain smiles and blinks rapidly. He touches her hand—it is indeed youthful again.

"I understand," he says. "My brother has some growing up to do and I know why you did what you did."

Ragnelle smiles.

"And I will not tell Arthur that you have magic," he decides. "I gave you my word to marry you and so I have—you would be killed if he knew and I will not risk that."

Ragnelle grins even more.

"But you, as my husband, have a choice to make," she says. "You may have me like this at night, just for you, or during the day for all to see."

Gawain smiles at her and appraises her again. She is pure loveliness—she is kind and gentle as she had been before, but now she is beautiful as well. He looks at her bright angel eyes. She was not given a choice when cursed—now the choice is his.

Gawain takes her hand in his and squeezes it. "You choose, my wife," he says.

An even greater smile spreads across her face and she closes her eyes. She glows golden and Gawain is startled, but then the glow fades and she grins brightly.

"What happened?" he asks frantically.

"You've broken it completely," she says happily. "I will be like this irrevocably."

Gawain smiles and looks up. "Oh, thank God!" he cries.

Ragnelle laughs. Gawain strokes the side of her face with a smile. "Lady Ragnelle," he says softly.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20—Marks of Trade

Lara smiles as she watches people congratulate Gawain and Lady Ragnelle on the breaking of the curse. Some do not believe the story, but Lara could tell Ragnelle's haggard appearance was not her own at the wedding.

"It's nice to see Gawain happy," Merlin says coming up next to her. "I only wonder how she knew about him."

"Knowledge of his nobility is wide in the realm," she says. "And it seems that she's a good judge of character."

"What makes you say that?"

"She knew of Roland's lack of guilt," she says with almost a laugh. "She knew that I would be hostile toward him." Lara looks up at him. "She even knows you're Emrys."

Merlin blinks down at her. "She's a druid," Lara says.

"How do you know that?" he hisses.

"The way she looked at you," she says. "With knowing admiration."

Merlin thinks of her words as Ragnelle and Gawain walk down the throne room. "She risked your life," he says darkly.

"To save her own," she says. "Besides—she wouldn't have allowed me to die."

Ragnelle leaves her husband and goes to Lara and Merlin. She looks cautiously at them both with her lovely eyes.

"I am very sorry I have caused you so much trouble," she says humbly.

"I understand why you did it," Lara says. "Sir Gawain is worth causing trouble for."

Ragnelle looks up at her and then to Merlin. "I hope you'll forgive me, Emrys," she says quietly. "I am no threat to anyone in this kingdom."

Merlin hesitates then nods surely. "I understand as well, Lady Ragnelle," he says.

She smiles brightly. "I am glad," she says. "And know that my magic is not very exceptional. I was barely able to enchant Marsden."

Lara nods gently. "I wouldn't ever expect you to do anything threatening toward Camelot, milady," she says.

Ragnelle touches Lara's arm. "You deserve a higher title than I, Lady of Heaven and Earth," she says with a smile. "A druid married to a knight," she scoffs. Then Ragnelle looks at Lara seriously. "is always lower than a warrior in King Arthur's court."

Lara smiles and Ragnelle turns to go back to her husband.

"Careful, Lara," Merlin says. "You'll give away your smile."

Lara sighs and twines her fingers into Merlin's and says nothing.

-Merlin puts out all of Arthur's candles in a happy manner. He gets hot wax on his hand but chips it off quickly and blows at the dim burn.

"Why are you so bouncy?" Arthur asks as he take soff his tunic to go to bed.

"It's a happy day-I'm entitled one happy day a month," Merlin says.

"I do not remember putting that in your job description," Arthur says.

"You don't remember a lot of things."

Arthur throws a pillow at Merlin whoc catches it with a smile. As he flattens it out and goes to get Arthur's pitcher of water, Arthur looks at him.

"Merlin," Arthur says seriously. Merlin looks at him withh a raised brow. "Has Lara said anything about...magic?"

Merlin blinks rapidly, not moving his eyes from Arthur's. "Why?"

"Well..." Arthur hesitates. He sits on his bed and looks out of the window. "In Glastonbury it seemed like she knew the sorceror that helped us and...if she knows any sorcerers..."

Merlin puts the pitcher down and looks at Arthur seriously. "What?" he urges.

Arthur shrugs. "Well, based on the recent occurances-with Glastonbury and that strange sword, with the relic and Lara particularly-I've been wondering," he says. "That maybe magic isn't as evil as my father thought it was."

Merlin swallows then picks up the pitcher again.

"Merlin?" Arthur says looking over his shoulder.

"You've said the same thing a million times," Merlin says in an exasperated voice. "And yet you still do nothing about your conflicted feelings about magic." Arthur looks at him. "You have all the resources-you are king. You have nothing standing in your way but your own self." Arthur blinks. "Arthur, if you feell suhc guilt about persecuting these people-the druids, the sorcerers, those suspected of magic but never used it!-then do something about instead of moping around saying you are thinking about doing something."

Arthur blinks rapidly at him. "Wow, Merlin," he says in a surprised voice. "That was...insightful."

"Yes, well I have my moments," Merlin snaps. "Will that be all sire?"

Arthur stares at him. "Merlin, what if it backfires?" he says almost rhetorically. "What if I lift the ban on magic and all it does is give those with it more reason to do horrible things?"

Merlin looks at the conflicted king, his heart beating and hopeful. "That's just a risk you'll have to take," Merlin says. "You have to trust that you have been good enough in your rule that there are those who are willing to protect the greater good. Magic and non-magic alike."

Merlin watches as Arthur thinks more and turns to leave. He wishes that what he's said can alter everything-that he will soon be able to show his true self to his good friend the King.


	21. Chapter 21

Memories of Death

Chapter 21—Follow Orders

Lara sighs deeply, looking indifferently at the wreckage of the battle. She turns her swords in her hand and sheaths them. She looks over her shoulder and smiles at Merlin dressing a wound on Arthur's arm.

They won the fight. It was brief and easy. A village was being bombarded by bandits pillaging and Arthur and his knights happened to be passing by. Lara was at the head of them, finishing off the leader before anyone else began to fight.

Lara turns when she hears a whimper behind her. She frowns and goes to the barrel where she heard the noise. She kneels and moves the barrel aside. A little boy with dark hair shrieks and shudders at the sight of her, clutching to the dirty wall. His arm is bleeding.

"It's okay," she says softly. "You're hurt—let me help you."

Lara holds her hand out. The boy whimpers again and pushes away from her, his bare feet kicking away the mud mixed with drops of blood.

"St—stay away from me!" he cries. "Don't—don't hurt me!"

"I'm not going to hurt you," she says softly.

"You're the Angel of Death!" he cries shooting guilt, discomfort and pain through Lara's bloodstream. "My mama told me to about you! You bring Death!"

Lara stands as Dresban and Leon go to the boy. Dresban picks up the boy who wraps his arms around his neck to keep him safe and Leon looks at the boy's wound.

"Don't you do enough?" Dresban shoots at Lara.

Lara ignores him and her hand drops to her heart. She shudders deeply.

"Lara," Merlin says touching her arm softly.

Lara jumps and raises her sword unconsciously to his throat. She sees his eyes and her own go wide. She drops her sword in the mud and backs away from him.

"I'm so sorry," she whispers, her throat clogging.

"Did you see that?" Dresban cries. "She almost killed Merlin!"

"I'm so sorry," Lara says again.

"No, Lara, it's—" Merlin begins.

But Lara raises her hand, picks up her muddy and bloody sword and stalks toward Trinidad.

"Lara," Arthur tries, but Lara walks past him and pulls Trinidad out of sight of the village.

Lara leans her back against a tree, closing her eyes and facing the sky. She swallows deeply and touches her throat, feeling the water and a few thick drops of blood.

—_Lara screamed when she was thrown roughly into the throne room. Her head was pulsating with hot fear and her hair was dripping from the rain she had just gotten out of._

_Then he came in—that man who took her personally from her parent's house. They called him Gorian, but he wanted her to call him Bronwyn. He had smiled at her as they traveled—he had called her names of endearment. But he was grim—he had run her mother through. So much red blood—more than Lara had seen in her entire life._

_Bronwyn smiled down at her and sat on the throne in the middle of the room. _

_"Hello, my pet," he said._

_Lara cried and shivered. "I—I want to go home," she whispered._

_"You are home, my darling," he said. He gestures toward the castle. "The Isle of the Gorinians is your home now." Lara whimpered. "Oh, come now, dear, you've moved around for most of your life—how is this place different from any of the others?"_

_Lara swallowed looking at the scary men staring at her around the room with sword. "It—it—" she began._

_"It's what?" Bronwyn nearly mocked. He laughed. "Is it scary?"_

_Lara looked at him and nodded. Bronwyn laughed again. "There are scarier things, beautiful."_

_Bronwyn stepped down from his throne and kneeled as he did in the forest. Lara whimpered when he holds her small child's chin in between his thick, calloused fingers. "Listen to me, angel," he said. "You will follow my every order. More than you ever did your father. You will be my angel of Death. Do you understand that?"_

_Lara stared at him. He shakes her head roughly. "Do you understand that?" he repeated._

_Lara nodded slowly, remembering the bloodshed she had witnessed—blood that included her parents'. _

-They rode back toward Camelot, talking and laughing as they often do after a battle. Percival, who normally jokes with Gawain but that particular knight was away on his honeymoon, laughs with Elyan and Arthur.

Merlin rides up next to Lara who is at the head, staring stoically forward. "Lara?" he says carefully.

"Not now, Merlin," Lara says softly.

"That boy was scared," Merlin tries to reason. "He didn't know what he was saying."

"He isn't the only one to give me the name the Angel of Death, Merlin," Lara rebukes roughly.

She hits Trinidad's reins and rides more forward. She hates her memories and wishes they would go away. She hates that they haunt her, follow her as surely as she did Bronwyn's orders.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22—Mine Eyes

Lara lies on her side with her eyes open toward the sky. She's not used to sleeping when traveling, but at least before she pretended. Now she doesn't trust herself to close them—she'll relive those memories if she's unfortunate enough to dream.

"Can't seem to find it," Percival complains while searching at the stars. "It was just here a moment ago."

"You look like an idiot looking at the sky like that," Elyan laughs.

"I'm looking for the right constellation," Percival says.

Arthur barks out laughter and leans his arms behind his head, closing his eyes. "You look like you're looking for your brain."

All laugh but Lara and Merlin. Merlin watches Lara's blank stare at the sky.

Lara points upward. "Orion is just there," she says. "Just between these two trees here."

Percival marches over and looks right where she pointed. "Oh yes," he says. "I see now."

"Is there anything you don't know, Lara?" Elyan jokes.

Lara thinks about that for a moment in seriousness that the knights did not expect. She decides to say nothing and stands.

"I'm going to get some firewood," she says almost nonchalantly.

"I'll go with—" Merlin begins.

"I'm fine," she lies roughly. She walks quickly through the moonlight. She doesn't pick up any firewood and just marches.

—_Mortis __marched __without emo__tion d__own __the __dimly __lit __corridor. __Her __shoulder __was __bleeding __and __she __had __blood __that __did __not __belong __to __her __on __her __clothes. __She __opened __the __doors t__o __Bronwyn__'__s __throne __room __and __began __to __take __off __her __dirty __and __bloody __gloves._

_"Mortis," Bronwyn's cried with a grin. He put the bloody arrow he had in his hand down and picks up a rag from next to his son. Aldren continued skinning the buck with brilliant eyes._

_"Blyden is dead," Mortis said blankly. "His wife attempted to get in the way, though."_

_"Oh yes," Bronwyn said wiping the buck blood off his arms. "And where is she? In the dungeons?"_

_"No she's bleeding from the neck next to her husband."_

_Bronwyn looked at her and smiled. Aldren looked up at his buck at Mortis with jealousy. _

_"And so you live up to your namesake," he said with a laugh. _

_"May I retire, Bronwyn?" she asked without emotion._

_"Yes," Bronwyn said. _

_Mortis felt nothing as she went back to her chambers. She was unaffected by everything—by the fact she could barely see four feet in front of her when she reached her chambers at the edges of the castle, at the screams coming from the dungeon or the clashes of swords as men trained, the sizzles of flesh as men are branded. She was unaffected by the man she had just killed and the woman who loved him. They're blood mixed together and Mortis still felt nothing._

—Merlin looks at Lara's back as they ride toward Camelot's gates. She has been silent for nearly the entire trip back. She has dark circles under her eyes and her if her expression isn't angry or thoughtful it's blank and non-responsive.

They ride back through the streets and people cheer. Lara does not respond to them—usually she smiles at least. Now she goes faster than normal and reaches the castle courtyard before anyone else.

"Lara," Gwyn says brightly as Lara dismounts and begins to take her things off of Trinidad. Lara doesn't respond. "How are you?" Gwyn asks hesitantly.

"I'm fine," she lies.

Lara swings her things over her shoulder and hits Trinidad's hide. The horse looks at her. Lara glares at him and points to the stables ahead.

"Go," she hisses.

Trinidad trots to the stables on her command without any more contestation like she trained her to. Lara turns then to go to the castle.

"Lara, what happened?" Gwyn asks following her.

"Leave me alone, Gwyn," Lara warns.

"Lara, you—"

Lara turns on her heel so her face is in Gwyn's. "What did I say?" she whispers.

Gwyn blinks rapidly. "You said to—"

"Leave me be, didn't I?" she hisses. "Now when I seem like I want to be left alone it would bode well for you to do so. It would keep you from getting hurt now, wouldn't it?"

Then Lara turns again and goes to her chambers. Arthur touches Gwyn's arm.

"Are you all right?" he asks.

"Yes," Gwyn says. "But Lara isn't."

—_Sir __Ector__—__Blyden__'__s __son__—__walked __angrily __through __the __corridors __of __the __Gorinian __castle __with __four __men __at __his __flanks. __He __pushed __open __the __doors __to __the __throne __room __and __draws __his __sword. __Mortis __followed __after __them __since __they __entered __the __castle. __She __had __her __hands __folded __behind __her __back __and __watched __them __carefully. __Ector __seemed __very __familiar __to __her __and __she __wasn__'__t __sure __how._

_"Sir Ector," Bronwyn said pleasantly as he waves his wife Rowena away. _

_"Bronwyn Gorian," Ector hissed. He points his sword at him. "You are responsible for my parent's murder."_

_"Well yes," Bronwyn said. "But I did not draw a sword."_

_"One of your assassins did, Gorian," Ector hissed._

_"Oh, come now, Ector, let's not be rash," he taunted. "Mortis was only following orders."_

_"Who is Mortis?" Ector cried. "Tell me now!"_

_Bronwyn chuckled and motioned Mortis forward. "Come now dear," he said._

_Mortis looked at Ector's face carefully when he and his men turned. Ector's face contorted into vague recognition as he looked at Mortis' face._

_"Lara?" he said, his sword lowering slightly._

_Mortis blinked rapidly. "Excuse me?" she said._

_"Lara—I can't believe it's you," he said. He looked her up and down—her expensive gown in dark green. "Where have you been?"_

_Mortis looked past him at Bronwyn who looked angry. "How do I know this man, Bronwyn?"_

_"You and I were children together," Ector said. "When you lived in Uther's kingdom."_

_Mortis blinked at him. She looked at his face more—he was very familiar. "You had blond hair then," she said slowly._

_Ector laughed. "Yes," he said. "Yes, I did."_

_"Why do you call me Lara?" she said. _

_Ector blinked. "Because that's your name," he stated._

_Mortis blinked rapidly again and stared at the confused knight before her._

_"Her name is Mortis now," Bronwyn said darkly. Ector's face dashed with surprised and fury. "Mortis," Bronwyn called. "Come here now."_

_Mortis moved away from where she stood and went next to Bronwyn. _

_"Regard the knight, Mortis," Bronwyn ordered._

_"You wished to see me, Sir Ector," Mortis said without emotion._

_"What have you done to her?" Ector demanded._

_"I have made her strong," Bronwyn said with a smile. "She is a wonderful weapon now."_

_Ector looked at the non-responsive Mortis. _

_"Now," Bronwyn said standing. "You wanted a duel with your father's killer—here she is."_

_Ector shook his head. "I cannot fight her," he said. "It isn't a fair fight."_

_"A fair fight for you, dear knight," Bronwyn said. "You fight at sundown."_

_"Yes, Bronwyn," Mortis said going past them to change for the fight._

_"Lara," Ector said. Mortis stopped and turned over her shoulder. "You don't want to kill me."_

_Mortis blinked rapidly and turned fully to look at him. "Want to?" she said._

_"You're confusing my assassin!" Bronwyn cried angrily._

_"Do you want to kill me?" Ector cried again._

_Mortis swallowed deeply. She opened her mouth to respond but a dagger shot from the air into Ector's chest. The other four men were disposed of quickly._

_Mortis found herself kneeling at Ector's side. She looked down at him with her face contorted. Ector was suffocating—the dagger had cut into his lungs._

_"You—you don't have to—kill," Ector shivered. "D-don't, Lara."_

_Mortis blinked rapidly. "I didn't know I had the choice," she said. _

_Ector's throat gurgled and he died. Mortis stood, her hands a little bloody and her mind conflicted by what she saw. _


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23—Before the Lines of Men

Lara knocks on Arthur's door gently.

"Enter," comes from within.

Lara enters and sees Arthur sitting at his desk, reading through some official parchment. He looks up and nods to her.

"Hello, Lara," he says. He puts the papers down and stands.

"Arthur," she says.

Arthur frowns. Lara looks very worn—tired and tortured. She's been avoiding Merlin, knowing he would get through to her when she wasn't sure she wanted to. Gwyn asked Arthur to try to talk to her—she wouldn't even listen to her closest friends, but maybe Arthur can get through to her.

"I've been worried about you since we returned from that village," he says. "We all have."

"Yes, well, I haven't been wounded," she says remotely.

"Apparently," Arthur says dryly. "But that boy—the village boy who was afraid of you…"

Lara clenches her jaw.

"He was merely frightened, Lara," Arthur continues. "It's understandable considering what he saw."

"Is this what you've called me in here for, Arthur?" she snaps. "Analysis of my personality when an insignificant little boy cowers away from me? He isn't the first—surely you know that."

Arthur stares at her. "You don't mean that."

Lara opens her mouth to protest but looks at the fire instead.

"I called you in here for that, yes, first and foremost," Arthur says sternly. "But I also need to ask you a favor."

Lara looks at him—she still isn't used to being asked to do things rather than being told.

"The new knights aren't exactly as…sharp as I'd like them to be," Arthur continues. "They need a sturdy hand."

"Surely Gawain or Leon would be more appropriate," Lara protests.

"Well Gawain is still on his honeymoon and Leon would be training them with you," Arthur says. "Besides—you know more than any of us do."

"Meaning I know how to kill a man more swiftly?" Lara snaps. She sees the hurt on Arthur's face and looks back at the fire. She watches it sizzle the wood to dust as Arthur watches her.

"What's gotten into you?" he breathes.

Lara swallows. "I used to feel nothing when I killed," she says quickly as if to get rid of the information. "I used to kill—keep killing until my orders were fulfilled. Now I feel—too sharply, almost."

Arthur nods. "That's good," he says. "You've changed in your time here and I think that's because of Merlin."

Lara looks at his forwardness. "You cannot understand how differently Merlin and my point of view is," she says. "He's killed in his life but to protect you or Camelot. I've killed for much less than that in a single day." Arthur looks at her. "I feel as though…me telling him all I've done…more of what's happened to me he will only judge me."

"You didn't have a choice in the matter," Arthur protests.

"But I did," she argues. "I didn't have to kill. I was able to defeat Bronwyn and every single man in that God forsaken castle at age ten but I didn't."

"It isn't your fault," Arthur says. "If there's anyone who can make you feel better about anything its Merlin. Trust me."

Lara looks at him again and sighs. "Tell your men to meet me before dawn in the training ring," she breathes.

"Lara," Arthur says. Lara opens the door and begins to walk down the hall back to her chambers, not looking back.

—_Mortis sat in the middle of a clearing of the forest. It wasn't often she spent time to her thoughts—then she felt like she needed to think. She thought of what had occurred a lifetime ago. She did remember Ector and how they played by the stream despite his parent's protests before she and her family moved again. She remembered being called Lara…but Mortis was all who she's ever been at the Gorinian castle._

_"Mortis."_

_Mortis stood and pulled both swords from her sheaths. "Who's there?" she cried angrily at whoever called her name—the voice echoed around the trees._

_Then Mortis walked slowly toward where the voice came from. Pushing through the trees and bushes, Mortis stopped before a cave. It had a glow about it that reminded her of the magic the other assassins preformed._

_"Hello, Mortis."_

_Mortis jumped backward and pointed her swords upward in the direction the voice came from._

_Mortis took a few steps back in awe at the beautifully great dragon before her, standing on the cave's roof._

_"What do you want, Dragon?" she cried._

_"You are a fearsome warrior," the dragon said. Then he shook his grand head sadly. "With a feared life…"_

_Mortis blinked rapidly and stared at the dragon. "How do you know me?" she demanded._

_"You may not be affected by magic, Mortis, but magic is certainly affected by you," the dragon said._

_The cave glowed again, giving Mortis' attention back to it._

_"Go to the crystal cave, Mortis," the dragon said. "And you will have answers to the questions that are no doubt conflicting your heart."_

_Mortis hesitated for what seemed like a lifetime—unsure if the dragon wanted to trap her there or kill her with it's breath. Deciding that death would not be much worth fearing, she walked into the cave with her swords still drawn._

_The crystals were beautiful—glowing with life and luster that Mortis never dreamed of. She sheathed her swords and knelt by one of the crystals._

_Visions began to flash before them—a King with golden hair and noble ambitions, a kingdom with a grand future and a man of humble origins, fighting to contain it with incredible magic._

_Mortis felt as if she would suffocate from the goodness that these people created. Then she saw herself, saving the life of the King and his magical servant. She saved many lives—she saved the kingdom._

_Mortis saw herself smile with the King and the sorcerer._

_Mortis walked outside of the cave after what felt like hours of staying there and looked up at the dragon who had remained._

_"Is that all true?" she demanded._

_"Completely," the dragon says solemnly. "You will succeed as Emrys and the Once and Future King will."_

_Mortis blinked rapidly. "That sorcerer," she said. "His name is Emrys."_

_The dragon nodded. "Also known as Merlin."_

_Mortis swallowed at the strange names—Emrys, Merlin, Albion. All worth fighting for._

_Mortis looked up at the dragon yet again—a creature of magic, before her, giving her purpose beyond the question Ector had asked—"Do you want to kill?"_

—The young new knights yawn flagrantly. They rub their eyes and some of their armor is askew. They look tired and worn and some haven't even gone to sleep.

Lara walks with purpose down toward them wearing just a shirt, pants and boots. She has no weapons and even her belt is a little loose around her hips. The men straighten at the sight of her a little and look in confusion.

"Men," Sir Leon cries having just rubbed his sleepy eyes out as well. "Attention to Lara of Camelot."

Lara stands before them all and looks at them—infants, the lot of them.

"All of you—take off your armor," she orders.

The men look at each other unsurely.

"Are you deaf and stupid? Do as I say!" she calls.

With Leon starting first, they all take off their armor and set it on the ground next to them so they are also wearing shirts with pants and their boots.

"Now drop all of your weapons," she orders then.

"How are we supposed to train without weapons?" one boy calls out.

"You will do as I say or King Arthur will hear of your insubordination—now drop all of your weapons!" she orders roughly.

They do hesitantly until they all have nothing. Lara scans her eyes over them and her eyes settle on one man looking guilty and cocky all at once.

She stalks forward and stands before him. She looks up at his face. Then she kneels, giving him a cocky grin to the other knights, and she pulls a dagger from his boot. He swallows.

"You like shiny things, do you?" she mocks.

He doesn't answer.

Lara then turns on her heel and throws the dagger into the tree behind her. The men gawk a bit then she stalks toward the forest.

"Follow me," she orders. "Any man that stays behind can run back to the fancy castles their daddies bought for them."

All follow, naturally. Leon runs up to Lara. "Lara, what are you planning on doing?" he asks. "We can't train without weapons."

"Leon, when I saw six I was thrown into a dungeon without food or water and was told if I fell asleep I would be given ten slashes of a whip," she says calmly. "When I passed that test I got that lovely brand on my back—these boys can handle a morning in the woods."

Leon says nothing else and falls back behind her. Lara has them all follow her deep into the forest, all of them told to either speak quietly or not speak at all.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24—Death in Dangerous Waters

Lara stalks forward through the woods with the new knights in Camelot behind her. She hears some distrustful and complaining grumbles but she ignores them. Then they reach the cliff by a waterfall, just before a small lake. It looks shallow and bright blue in the morning sun. She takes off her boots and tosses them to the side so she is barefoot.

Lara turns on her heel to face them and they stop, look at her strangely as she stands before what looks like the edge of the world.

"How many of you are afraid to jump off this cliff?" she calls out.

Some men let out bursts of laughter that they muffle immediately at the sarcasm of them. Leon looks unsurely at Lara.

"Raise your hand if you are not afraid to jump off this cliff?" she questions.

One idiot raises his hand.

"Step forward," she says.

The man's smile disappears and he walks over to Lara. Lara lets him look over the edge where he sees the seemingly shallow pool. She looks at him.

"Are you still afraid?" she asks.

The man defiantly shakes his head. A smile plays on the corner of his mouth.

"Why do you think this is funny?" she asks.

The man swallows a little, looking at the group of his peers briefly. "Because you are asking knights of Camelot if they are afraid," he says. He shakes his head. "No man would ever admit to fear."

Lara laughs then. "You see that's where you're wrong, Sir Knight," she says. She regards all of them then. "The fact that none of you would admit to fear is very cowardly indeed. Because bravery cannot exist without fear."

The knight next to her scoffs. Lara looks at him and shakes her head. Then she looks back to the others.

"Bravery is not the absence of fear—bravery is having the audacity to act despite fear's presence," she declares out causing all to fall silent. Lara looks over her shoulder at the cocky knight next to her. "Now jump."

The man blinks rapidly.

"You claim lack of fear—now use that," she says sharply. "Unless you are willing to admit you are afraid, then I will allow you to go back to the ranks of your peers without shame."

The man glares at her. "Do not mock me."

"The last thing I am doing is mocking you," she says sincerely. She sighs. "Go back with your men."

The man hesitates then walks back to the group of speculative knights.

Lara stands with her back to the cliff then and looks upon the men. "The idea to have no fear is an idiotic one," she calls out. "Bravery is worth more than fear and that is why there are men that defy it—not get rid of it."

Lara takes a few steps backward so her heels are hanging off the edge of the cliff.

"Lara," Leon says unsteadily with his hand raised.

"I'm not afraid of heights," she says. "But I'm not the best swimmer."

"Lara!" Leon cries.

Lara falls backward down the cliff. She can feel gravity pulling her down then the splash of the water encircling her all over. She feels herself go deeper into the water—it only looks shallow in the morning light. She comes up from the water with a gasp and blinks the water from her eyes.

All the men are standing at the edge of the cliff looking down at her with surprise and amazement.

"What the hell Lara!" Leon cries out from above.

"All of you—jump now," she orders. They hesitate. "What did I say?—jump now!"

They all jump down into the waters then, trying to avoid hitting Lara while relaxing in the process when they realize the water isn't shallow.

Lara swims unsteadily out of the water and onto the shoreline, mud lining her feet and water dripping from every piece of her.

—_Mortis walked with her brow furrowed down the dark hallway toward Bronwyn's throne room. She was conflicted by what she had learned just a day earlier; what that dragon told her and what she saw in the crystals seemed impossible. He told her that this would give her purpose. But still…she had never seen such magic._

_Before opening the door to the throne room Mortis straightened her face to gain composure. She opened the doors and Bronwyn grinned. Most of the assassins were around the room and Bran—a particularly handsome and brutal assassin—was right next to Bronwyn and Aldren._

_"Good morning, Mortis," Bronwyn said. "Bran—go next to her."_  
><em>Bran followed orders and stood next to Mortis. They said nothing and did not look at each other.<em>

_"You see that?" he called out to everyone. "Don't they look marvelous together?"_

_There were some mumbled agreements._

_"You two will make wonderful children for me," Bronwyn said._

_"Bronwyn?" Mortis said with a furrowed brow she couldn't hide._

_Bronwyn blinked. "You will marry Bran, Mortis," he said. "You will make children that will be trained as you were."_

_Mortis blinked rapidly by accident. Her hand suddenly fluttered to her core and she looked at Bronwyn with surprise and hurt. Many assassins exchanged glances and Bronwyn stared at Mortis._

_"Do you not like my wish, Mortis?" Bronwyn said with extreme surprise._

_Mortis swallowed deeply. "I…" Mortis trailed off and Bronwyn stood with surprise deep on his face. Mortis sensed the tension around the room and how dangerous it was for her to speak in such ways._

_"I am only unsure of why you have so automatically chosen Bran," she says darkly causing Bran to look at her. Bronwyn exhaled and sat down slowly. "Should there not be a fight for the right to father my children?"_

_Bronwyn smiled and leaned his head against his hand. "You are perfectly right, Mortis," he agreed. "All who feel they are worthy to wed Mortis and father her miraculous children may fight for the right. Any assassin that kills another will be killed himself—this will not be a fight to the death, understand?" he called out. "The eastern ring at sundown. You are dismissed."_

_The men began to talk among themselves, many wanting to fight to wed Mortis and even more disliking the "no-kill" rule._

_Mortis turned on her heel away from them toward the exit corridor. She felt Bronwyn's eyes burning her back but attempted to ignore it._

_Bran grabbed her arm suddenly. Her hand grabs his and she glares at him lethally._

_"You doubt me," he growled._

_Mortis glared at him. "If you ever touch me again there will be no hesitation in killing you, do you understand?" she hissed._

_Bran glared at her as she shoved his hand off of her and walked away from the throne room._

—Lara pulls the men away from the waterfall and they follow her willingly, beginning to trust her more and more.

"All of you are accustomed to having weapons on command," she calls out. "Now because you have none, find something as a weapon and pair up with someone."

The men are hesitant as they usually are by Lara's unorthodox ways, but begin to look for anything to use as a weapon. Lara herself picks up two rocks the size of her palm. She stands before them and everyone is paired up. Leon goes next to her with his thick branch.

"We're not going to have them hurt each other are we?" he asks.

"No, Leon," she says feeling a little insulted. "They're meant to learn how to be resourceful."

Leon hesitates. "Did they have you do these things?"

Lara clenches her jaw. "No, they taught me not to be afraid instead of to be brave," she says quickly. "To do that they pushed my head under the water until just before I drowned. That was every morning so I wouldn't fear death, it was so close. To teach me to be resourceful they shoved me in a cage with a much older new recruit." She looks at the shocked Leon. "So I'm sure they will be fine with getting a few cuts and bruises from rocks and twigs."

Lara walks forward and moves one of the men aside so she was before a man with branches. With the two small stones in her hand she gestures forward.

"Attack me," she says.

The knight swallows then displaying pride, strikes forward with the branch he had. Lara dodges easily to the right and strikes her stones together. The stones spark and ignite the branch on fire. The knight gasps and drops the branch. He begins stepping on the branch to get the fire out and everyone watches—more laugh.

Lara drops one of the stones and holds one in the air. "The least vulnerable weapon is your most valuable weapon," she says. She tosses the stone aside and looks at the knight. "And even if there's a spark between you and you opponent you can't let it get in the way."

The men laugh and Lara walks over toward Leon.

"Pick new weapons and spar with your opponent," she says lazily. "If there is any blood drawn you spar with me."

As the men begin Lara stands next to Leon with her arms folded, watching them meticulously.

"I'm sorry I doubted you," he says.

"So am I," she agrees.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25—Defying the Master and King

The knights walk slowly back toward the training ring. They are drained of energy and are dirty and wet and exhausted. Arthur blinks at the sight—Lara walking strongly forward, hair crumpled from being in water and just a bit of dirt on her while the strong noblemen lag behind. Sir Leon is just behind her, tired but nearly as much as the other men.

"Lara I wanted you to train them—not kill them," Arthur jokes.

Lara did not think it was funny. She walks right past him and picks up a bow and arrow.

"We are not finished!" she yells out before they head back for the castle. They do not groan as Arthur expected. They stop and look at her for further instructions.

"One man come forward," she calls out.

They hesitate and then a man—just barely a man who looks more like a farmer's son than a nobleman's—walks forward with his chin held high. Lara gestures him toward a tree. He stands there with his arms at his side.

"Turn your back to me," she says.

"No I'll stay forward," he says.

Lara smiles coyly and nods to him. "Very well," she agrees, happy with his response. Then she raises her bow and shoots—it nails the tree just above the man's golden head.

Lara grins and nods to him. He smiles. "What is your name, Sir Knight?" she asks.

"Darion of Carland."

Lara grins and gestures him forward. "He has learned," she calls out to the others. "Follow Sir Darion's example. You may leave for the day. Return tomorrow at sunset."

The men sigh and disperse. Darion meets with his friends with a noble smile. Lara puts the bow back as the knights pick up their things.

"I'm guessing it went well?" Arthur says.

"It could have gone better," she says. "But they're learning."  
>"Good."<br>Lara begins to walk toward the castle without another word to Arthur.

"Lara," Arthur calls. Lara looks over her shoulder. "We're going hunting tomorrow with the arrival of Prince Foray and Princess Sansa of Caspar. Will you join?"

Lara thinks about the familiarity of the names and decides against her initial deliberation. "No," Lara says. "Give the Highnesses my regards."

"I'd like you to go, Lara," Arthur says a little sternly.

"Oh, excuse me," she mocks walking toward him. "I wasn't aware that it was an order. I thought it was a suggestion."

"It was."

"Then why do you continue to ask?"

Arthur stares down at her. "Because I think it would be good for you."

"Oh, yes," she says dryly. "Killing more of God's innocent creatures _will_ make me feel better." Arthur stares at her. "The screams of a dying animal _will_ make the screams of those I've killed go away! They will fade to nothing—underground just as their bodies did. And it will make the memories I have—of death and destruction that _I_ was the cause of—disappear into thin air as if by magic. Oh wait!—that _wouldn__'__t_ work, would it? Not on me."

Lara turns on her heel to walk away from Arthur when she sees Merlin. She stops in her tracks and her hand goes to her core where she feels the pain. Merlin is looking at her not with pity, but with equal pain for her own suffering. Lara swallows at the thickness of her throat and the sting behind her eyes.

She lowers her head and stalks forward toward the castle in the opposite direction of Merlin. She knows he is following her. When she reaches her chambers she falls into one of the chairs and presses her hands to her forehead. Merlin puts his hands on her shoulders and she feels hot wetness fall from her eyes.

"I wish I could make it go away," Merlin says softly.

"Yea, I wish you could too," she says in a choked manner.

Merlin sits down next to her and looks at her puffy blue eyes. She looks at him then and feels that maybe he can make it go away. She opens her mouth and doesn't stop telling him.

She tells him everything from Lara to Mortis—from the ends of Odin's Kingdom to the edges of kingdoms unknown—from the Mediterranean to the North Sea and back again.

—_Mortis sat next to Bronwyn on a lesser chair than he or Aldren's. The men were fighting for her; for the right to father her children. There had been no deaths, but plenty of blood. That Bronwyn could not stop._

_The unconscious or mortally wounded men were pulled away from the ring to be tended to. All that was left was Bran, Roddick, Jon, and Kardyn._

_Bran sliced Kardyn's back calf and dislocated his jaw, knocking the old man out. As Kardyn was pulled away Roddick was thrown away from the ring by the heavily muscled Jon. Roddick recited a powerful spell that shot fire from his hand. The flames licked Jon's legs, but Jon-large, heavy Jon-kicked dust up into Roddick's eyes while putting out the trail of fire. Roddick was knocked out by Jon. Bran and Jon began to fight once Roddick was carted off. Bran was faster but Jon was larger._

_"See how sought out you are, Morits?" Bronwyn laughed. "These men would die to have you in their bed."_

_Mortis swallowed. "But I would die before I had them in mine," she growled._

_Bronwyn and Aldren looked at her. Bronwyn grabbed her chin and Mortis did not react with him as she did with anyone else. Her hands clasped the arms of her chair._

_"What did you say to me, child?" he hissed angrily in her face._

_"Let go of me, Bronwyn," she warned. Bronwyn blinked._

_"I will do with you as I please," he spat. "If I wanted you in my bed I would. But because I see you as a daughter, my sweet prodigy, you have yet to visit it." He moved her head in the direction of the battle. Bran was winning. "Now you will be in your champion's bed and there will be no contestation. Do you understand that?_

_"Let go of me, Bronwyn," she repeated._

_"I release you on my will!" he yelled in her face. The assassins go silent even though Bran just won. He stood over her with authority and she glared up at him under her eyelashes._

_"You cannot tell me anything, child!" he declared. "I am your master—you will do as I please when I wish you to! If I say run until your feet bleed—you do so! If I say whore yourself to every assassin in this order—you spread your legs! If I say die—you die! Now do you understand me?"_

_Mortis glared at him and stood slowly. She did not break their eye contact. They glared at each other for another moment when Bronwyn grabbed her chin again roughly._

_Instead of leaving him be as she normally did, she grabbed his wrist, twisted it to the side and elbowed his chest in one swift movement. As he fell backward three assassins went upon Mortis._

_Mortis dislocated the jaw of the first, disarmed and killed the second, and grabbed a handful of hair of the third. She pressed the third assassin's head forward and kneed it so he began to bleed._

_Mortis pushed him over into the ring and turned on her heel so she was facing Bronwyn's sword._

_She glared up at him and he at her, breathing heavily._

_"Don't make me kill you, Mortis," he breathed angrily._

_Mortis looked down at her reflection in his blade—her eyes had no positive emotion. They had only anger, pain and hate. She hated the look on her face. So she looked away from her own reflection and back up at Bronwyn. She wrapped her hand around the blade so her palm began to bleed. Bronwyn blinked at her wound while the blood trickled onto his sword and to the floor._

_"You will not be the death of me, Bronwyn," she hissed._

_Four assassins then grabbed Mortis from behind and clapped her in irons. She was dragged away from the scene to the screaming dungeons—yet she felt it was the most silence she'd been given in years._

_Mortis understood at that moment._


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26—Released

Lara feels significantly better after telling Merlin everything. After she did, Merlin returned the favor by telling her many things that he and Arthur have been through. Of course, Merlin knows more details than Arthur due to the King's obliviousness to Merlin's magical abilities.

Nonetheless, Lara feels better. She walks down the corridor with an unconscious smile on her face, completely forgetting the royal visitors. She goes into the throne room to apologize to Arthur and opens the door.

She freezes when she sees the backs of the royals. The prince and princess turn and Arthur smiles at Lara's presence.

"Ah," Arthur says getting off of his throne and beginning to ward toward her. "How are you feeling?"

Lara looks at Prince Foray and Princess Sansa who are both staring at her with grim recognition.

"Much better, thank you," she says quietly. Arthur frowns again.

"You," Prince Foray hisses with extreme hatred. He pulls his sword from its scabbard and points it at Lara. His men draw their swords as well and then Leon, Elyan, Percival and the other knights do as well defend Lara. Arthur's brow furrows and holds his hands up to suggest peace. Merlin has stepped forward with his hands open and ready to defend her—even if that meant magic.

"Foray, what's going on?" he demands.

"That—that _murderer_ killed our father!" Foray shouts, his sword pointed at Lara.

"That's preposterous," Arthur says. "Why would she…?"

Arthur trails off when he sees the sadness and guilt on Lara's face. He swallows then and clenches his jaw.

Lara looks past him at the knights. She nods for them to lower their swords. They do so very hesitantly and Darion's sword is the last to fall at his side.

Lara then looks at Prince Foray. She walks slowly over to him so he grips his sword more tightly. He glares at her and she stops about five feet away.

"You remember me," she says first.

"Yes," he growls. "I saw you pulling your sword from my father's chest."

Lara swallows. "I don't suppose any apology from me would be accepted," she says softly. She looks down so her face sinks with sadness. Foray frowns. She looks back up at him then. "You are right to think that I was the one who murdered your father," she says.

Foray takes a step forward.

"Foray," Arthur says as he goes to Lara. He shakes his head. "She did not murder him—she assassinated him."

"No, Arthur, I murdered him," Lara contradicts.

"No—murder entitles premeditation and motive," he cries. "You were told to kill him—so you did."

"Nonetheless, I killed him," she says calmly. She looks at Foray and young Princess Sansa who is crying. "Bronwyn Gorian wished for your father's land and he knew of your palace's modern defenses. He sent me to impregnate the castle and kill your father."

"Because of you, my sister and I had to take refuge in another kingdom!" Foray hisses through his teeth.

"I know," she says. "Had I known…" she trails off. "Had I known that I had the choice to kill I wouldn't have ever come near your father."

Foray averts his gaze to his head bodyguard then. "Arrest her."

Arthur draws his sword then and stands in front of Lara.

"You _defend _a Gorinian assassin?" Foray shouts.

"Yes," Arthur cries. "You will not arrest my friend within my walls."

Lara looks at him and swallows. "Arthur, I—"  
>"Move aside, Arthur!" Foray yells. "She murdered my father."<p>

"It wasn't her fault!" Arthur rebukes.

"Arthur!" Lara cries. Arthur looks at her. She shakes her head and he looks back to Foray.

"There will be a fair trial," he says. "It is the way of Camelot and it will be so."

Foray clenches his jaw then finally shoves his sword in his scabbard. "If she leaves the castle walls, there will be hesitation."

Arthur nods. "I understand."

As Foray, his sister and men leave, Lara holds her hand to her throat. When the door shuts behind them she shakes her head.

"You should not have done that, Arthur," she says.

"He would have killed you."

"He will anyway!" she cries. "I killed his father, Arthur. If you were face-to-face with the person responsible for your father's death would you not want revenge?"

Arthur swallows and Merlin shifts his weight unsteadily. "That's different," he grumbles.

"How?" Lara says angrily. "I was ordered to kill Foray's father; the man who meant to heal your father was thwarted in his attempt by the magic of Morgana!"

Arthur stares at her. He blinks rapidly and Gaius and Merlin exchange glances. "What?" Arthur whispers.

Lara swallows deeply and looks away from him. "It's no different," she says quietly.

"Lara, how do you know this?" Arthur demands.

Lara says nothing. Arthur goes to her and grabs her arms, screaming in her face, "_How __do __you __know __this_?"

"Let go of her, Arthur!" Merlin shouts.

Arthur lets go and Lara stares at him.

"You see," she breathes. "That anger. It's what Bronwyn used for years to fuel murder despite its inconsistency. It's the reason why I was such a valuable assassin—I lacked anger and therefore was always flawless in my murders."

Arthur breathes. "How do you know that?" he says calmly.

Lara looks at him. "Don't hate me for knowing what you refused to believe," she says. "It will only bring you unhappiness."

Lara turns then to leave the throne room. "Remind the others, Sir Darion—sunset at the training ring," she says as she leaves.

Even as Lara leaves, she feels a little more closure than previously.

—_Mortis returned with a few of the other assassins from escorting Aldren to his uncle's castle. She was taken out of the dungeon for that specific reason—and for good behavior. She was silent and obeying throughout her brief incarceration._

_Mortis went toward her chambers while taking off her gloves. She turned her back to her door and put her things on her bed. She sighs and shakes her head._

_"What do you want, Bran?"_

_Bran stepped forward with his hands behind his back. "You're lucky that you're Bronwyn's favorite," he said. "Any other man would be dead."_

_"Well, good think I'm not a man then," Mortis said tartly. "Unless you prefer men, Bran, in which case you should tell Bronwyn immediately so I don't have a less than enthusiastic husband."_

_"How dare you speak to me that way?" he hissed._

_Mortis turned on her heel and pointed her sword right underneath Bran's chin. "I can say whatever the hell I want to say to you," she growled. She looked at his eyes. "I am Bronwyn's favorite for a reason, remember?"_

_Bran's breath quickened just a little bit. "You're only his favorite because you're the most manipulated," he said. "You're his lapdog, Mortis—his weapon. Nothing more nothing less."_  
><em>Mortis pressed the tip of her sword into his neck so just a drop of blood released.<em>

_"You see?" Bran mocked. "No better than a sword—just as obedient, Bronwyn says."_

_Mortis glared at him and pushed him forward while cutting the side of his pretty face. Before he could draw his sword Mortis sheathed hers, tripped him so he fell backward and pushed his head into the corner of her table. Mortis stared, breathing over his unconscious body angrily. She looked down at her hands and then up at her reflection in her mirror._

_Mortis walked over to the mirror and pulled down the back of her shirt so she could see her brand—the brand of the Gorinians marked her as a weapon without purpose. The words of the Great Dragon rang through her head as she looked at the raised red skin that did not belong to her, but Bronwyn Gorian._

_Mortis pushed her things into a bag or two, storing her weapons in her saddlebags she intended to put on her horse Trinidad in the stables. She threw a cloak over her and stepped over Bran._

_"Mortis," one of the guarding assassins said when he saw her. "Bronwyn wishes to see you in the throne room."_

_Mortis instead threw a dagger at his chest. It stabbed him and he drew his sword as he suffocated, but she punched him so he fell unconscious. She walked quickly down the corridor toward the stables, hearing the assassins becoming aware of the unconscious man in the middle of the dark corridor._

_"Mortis!" Bran screamed down the hall._

_Mortis turned slowly as Bran ran toward her with his sword drawn. She dodged a swing from him and disarmed him, sending his sword sailing to the other end of the corridor. Men were approaching but Mortis didn't worry much._

_Bran grabbed her throat and picked her up from the floor so his face was in hers._

_"You pathetic little whore," he hissed. "Do you think yourself that important, Mortis?"_

_Mortis rammed her arms into his so he had to let her go. She pulled a dagger from his side and slid it up into his gut. He choked with eyes wide in surprise._

_"I warned you not to touch me," she growled in his face. She pushed him down so he was bleeding on the ground, breathing raggedly as life deserted him. "And my name is not Mortis," she said turning the bloody dagger in her hand._

_She threw his own dagger down so it sunk deeply into his throat. He gurgled raggedly and died as a pool of red blood circled around him._

_Even as she left the Isle behind, as she washed the blood from her hands and escaped the chasing assassins she did not feel free._

_Not until she had been in Camelot did she feel a single bit of release._


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 57—The War Front

Lara overlooks the young knights as they spar. Her arms are folded over her chest as she does so and Leon is walking among them, correcting them if they are wrong.

"What are you thinking about?" Merlin asks as he comes up behind her.

Lara swallows. "I'm trying to remember what their father looked like," she says truthfully.

Merlin looks at her.

"I've killed so many, Merlin that all their blank stares have combined together into blackness," she admits. "No life, no future all because of my blade."

"You didn't want to kill them."

"No, I never did," she says. "I wanted nothing more than to leave and I very well could have…But I stayed. All those years. Because I didn't know anything else other than death."

"And now that you do?"

Lara looks at Merlin wistfully. "Now that I do I want nothing more than to avenge their deaths," she admits. Merlin looks at her with unhidden horror. Lara shrugs. "I wanted to avenge my parents deaths—but the ones I have reason to blame I do not want to kill. I don't want to kill anyone unless I have to."

Merlin shakes his head and looks at her closely. "You do not have to succumb to a judgment," he tells her sternly. "You are—"

"What am I, Merlin?" Lara near laughs. "A knight? A nobleman's daughter? A Lady? A courtier?" Lara shakes her head. "I am nothing but an assassin under King Arthur's homage."

"You are more than that," Merlin says passionately.

"Am I?" she almost mocks. "I've been told I am—I have value, I've been told. I can train men, protect kings and love sorcerers yet I cannot escape the screams that are in my head." Lara looks down at her feet when he voice cracks on the last word. She hates that she is capable of tears now. She decides that she prefers tears of joy. Her brow creases with worry and distaste. "I thought I could silence them with the death of Bronwyn, but as soon as I had his throat at my blade I couldn't allow myself the possibility of feeling pleasure toward a person's death. I wouldn't give Bronwyn the satisfaction."

Merlin opens his mouth to reply when Lara looks up sharply and throws her dagger at the handle of Sir Mortimer's blade. His sword flips in another direction out of his hand. He looks at her incredulously as all cease to fight.

"Sir Mortimer—you will not strike a blow at a man's upper thigh and that is final," she calls angrily. "It is a cheap shot that not even a woman warrior would make. If you are crippled by Sir Rhagard's speed then I suggest you move fast and lean toward your left rather than you're right—you're stronger on that side."

As Mortimer goes to get his sword back after Lara's brutal instruction Merlin opens his mouth to say something to her but she has gone to instruct Darion with intensity as the boy listens carefully.

—The Prince and his sister stand with their men behind them, looking angry and stoic all at once. Arthur is at his throne with his counsel, knights, Gwyn, Gaius and Merling by his side.

"Where is she?" Princess Sansa hisses. He anger has exceeded her brother's now, past her surprise of Lara's appearance.

At that moment Lara opens the doors into the throne room. Surprisingly she wears her fighting attire, swords and all. Her eyes look a deeper shade of blue and her hair is untied and loose over her shoulders and down her back. She walks calmly but with beautiful thoughtfulness as not many do on judgment day. She goes to the center of the room full a loud silence.

She bows her head to Arthur gracefully and looks to the angry Prince and Princess. She nods to them and they do not return to favor. She then unbuckles her sword belts at her hip and back and holds them before the young royals in her hand.

"I do not intend on fighting anything, your highnesses," she says.

Lara drops the fine swords on the ground and kicks them over to the jumpy Prince Foray. He looks at them like filth on the floor.

"Are those the swords you killed my father with?" he hisses.

"No, that sword was left behind in the Gorinian castle when I left it," she says.

He looks at her.

"Prince Foray and Princess Sansa," Arthur interrupts. "You have accused Lara, formally known as Mortis, of killing your father Lord Donnel Galway."

"I plea guilty, your majesty," Lara says to Arthur.

"See?" Princess Sansa cries. "She admits it!"

"There is no denying it," Lara says. She takes one step forward and goes on her knees. She folds her hands on her legs and all watch as the great Mortis yields to the frustrated and young prince.

"I am forever sorry for those I have murdered in my time," she says sincerely. "All of whom were fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, men and women, brothers and sisters, children and their likes…" Lara looks up, sadness and tears in her eyes. "No lord died any differently from the others as no peasant died differently from a lady.

"It is claimed that I had no choice in the matter of killing your father, Prince and Princess," Lara says. "That is only half-true. I had a choice to continue to kill and not to since I was ten yet I still killed your father at age sixteen."

The Prince makes a face of discomfort of the age.

"The screams," Lara continues, her voice choking in places she's never thought possible, "will never leave me." She shakes her head as a tear escapes hot down her cheek. "I cannot get rid of them. The eyes of the dead no longer have individuality. Your father was no exception to that yet I still wish for the vengeance of his death as you do. And because I cannot remember him…as I cannot remember my own father's blank eyes when the Gorinian's killed him…I am truly sorry."  
>The Prince stares at her. "You say that it was only half-true that you had a choice," he states without emotion other than confusion.<p>

Lara looks up at him, her misfortune easier to present than anyone else's. "It was discovered that I was…special when I was just a child," she says. "My parents moved me all around the five kingdoms until after my fifth name day. It was not known by my lowborn parents that we were being watched by Bronwyn Gorian's men as they tested my unique abilities. They attacked when they were certain with Bronwyn himself at their side. They killed my parents before and took me to their castle to be trained as a Gorinian assassin."

Sansa shakes his head. "I don't believe it."

Lara looks at him with intense anger. "Do you need proof, dear princess, of my misfortune?" she barks.

Lara stands with pride and pulls down the back of her shirt, displaying her entire back rather than the top right corner as she normally had in Camelot.

The Princess gasps.

Not only does Lara have a ghastly brand of the Gorinian's on her right shoulder blade, pink as the raised skin did toward the sun when the burn seared over her body, but she also has many scars of battle. Jagged, crossed scars stretching sometimes from the middle of her back to her front. She has more than a few whip scars that had dashed painfully across her skin in her childhood.

Merlin feints forward at the sight and clenches his jaw with anger at her scars. Lara pulls her shirt back down and squeezes her fists together as she looks darkly upon the prince and princess.

"Do you doubt me still?" she hisses.

The Prince shakes his head without pride. "No," he agrees. Sansa, though, has no emotion on her face any longer.

"How did the Gorinian's know of your special abilities, whatever they are?" the Princess says darkly.

Lara looks at her. She blinks rapidly. "Someone told Bronwyn."

"Who?" the princess asks sharply.

Lara swallows and clenches her jaw. "Uther Pendragon."

Arthur pauses and stands, looking upon Lara with intense sorrow. "He wanted me trained as he personal bodyguard for my abilities," she says.

"You see, Arthur?" the princess cries, pointing at Lara. "She has infiltrated your castle to exact her revenge."

"The son is not to blame for the sins of the father," Lara says. "Besides, I didn't know that my capture was Uther's doing until after I came to Camelot to help Arthur."

The Prince stares at her curiously and the Princess says nothing.

"Lara," Arthur says softly. She looks up at him and his arms are held out helplessly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to have anymore guilt of your father's actions," she says. "God knows you have plenty."

Arthur blinks rapidly.

"Just because you had a life of misfortune does not justify the fact you killed our father," Princess Sansa says darkly.

Lara looks at her. "I agree."

"Lara," Arthur cautions.

Lara goes to the Prince and Princess anyway and kneels. She puts her hands on her thighs and looks up at them.

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," she says and bows her head so her neck is exposed. "A life for a life."

"_No!_" Merlin shouts. Leon and Percival grab him from behind and push him, but Merlin resists angrily.

"Lara, no!" Merlin cries furiously.

Prince Foray pulls out his sword and touches her neck with the cold steel.

"NO!" Merlin screams again.

He raises his hand and eyes glow in an attempt to move Lara away from Foray, but it didn't work.

"Merlin!" Gaius hisses. He grabs Merlin's hands. "You have to let her go! If you do anything, Arthur will know."

Merlin glares at his mentor. "It is time he knew," Merlin says in a double timbre.

Lara looks over her shoulder to look at Merlin's eyes directly. She looks up at Prince Foray.

"If I may," she says.

He hesitates. "Brother?" Princess Sansa hisses furiously.

Foray puts his sword down and nods to her anyway. Lara stands and walks over to Merlin. She calls off Percival and Leon so Merlin is released. Merlin immediately grabs her face between his hands.

"I will not allow it," he says to her passionately.

Lara takes his hands that are rested strongly on her face. "You'll have to," she says pushing back the tears she hates.

"I can stop this," he says.

"I can too, you know. But then what?" she says with a smile. "We run and Arthur is left to fend for himself, raise Albion on his own? You're destined for greater things, Merlin."

"No, you are," Merlin says almost like a child.

Lara smiles and presses her forehead to his. She swiftly kisses his lips and turns, unable to contain her own self.

"No," Merlin says again so Leon and Percival restrain him.

Lara walks quickly down to a stunned Prince Foray and kneels before him. "Bring my old friend Death to me, Foray, before I lose my senses," she says darkly.

Foray hesitates. Sansa sighs angrily and pulls the sword from Foray's hands. "You were always weak, brother!" she hisses.

Then she raises the sword above Lara's neck and as the steel strikes down on Lara's skin, there is a terrible scream of metal and sorrow.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28—Once and Future

The scream of metal rang throughout the throne room, piercing and terrible.

Because not only did Arthur slip his sword under Lara's executioner's, but Prince Foray stuck his dagger underneath his sister's.

Lara exhales and opens her eyes, not blinking once. The angry princess glares at her brother.

"You have no jurisdiction in Camelot," Arthur hisses above the steel. Merlin pushes away from the restraining knights and kneels by Lara's side. He cannot touch her until the three blades above her are moved.

"You favor a murderer?" the surprised princess Sansa hisses angrily. "She could turn on you at any moment."

"She won't," Prince Foray says. He looks at his sister. "Sansa, she has such guilt on her shoulders. Isn't that enough?"

"_No_," Sansa barks. "It is _not_ enough."

"You are killing the executioner for the master's order," Prince Foray says calmly. He moves his dagger up so the heavy sword Sansa holds drops to the ground. He shakes his head as Merlin pulls Lara away from them and cradles her in his arms. "It isn't just, Sansa."

Sansa shakes her head and drops the sword with a clatter. She turns on her heel and with three men behind her she marches toward the exit. Before someone opens the door for the Princess she looks over her shoulder.

"You have made a grave mistake, Arthur Pendragon," she says darkly. "One day I will kill that woman before your very eyes and you will be helpless."

Merlin looks over Lara's shoulder and glares at her. "We'll see how helpless the rest of us are," Merlin says very darkly, sounding more like Emrys, the sorcerer of Albion, than the servant he is.

The Princess looks at Merlin incredulously and stalks angrily out of the throne room with her guard in her wake. Foray regards Arthur and, without looking at Lara again, walks out after his sister calmly.

Lara breathes heavily with her face pressed into Merlin's shoulder.

—_Mortis walked into the clearing where the Great Dragon stood. She swallowed awkwardly and looked up at him. _

_ "You have made a great sacrifice, young Mortis," he said to her calmly with a smile spread across his reptilian face._

_ "There was no sacrifice involved," she disagreed. _

_ The dragon's throat laughed like gravel falling down stone. "Regardless, you have chosen a side that will rise in history with your help."_

_ "What now?" Mortis asked._

_ "That is up to you, child," the Dragon said. "You will be given the tools and the drive to do what is right and may do what you wish with it._

_ "In the depths of the ruined castle by the sea is a relic of great power," the dragon said. "You must find this relic and take it to Camelot where it will be safe."_

_ "Why can't you protect it?" Mortis asked._

_ "The relic has the ability to give incredible magical power to any who wields it," the dragon said. "Except you. You will not be tempted by the Embolis' power. You will be its protector until it can be given to its child."_

_ "It's child?" Mortis blinked._

_ The dragon laughed. "Yes, young warrior," he said. "Its child."_

_ Mortis was unsure, but hoping that everything could only get better. _

—Lara is smiling down as Gawain returns from his honeymoon with Lady Ragnelle. The knights and Arthur pat his back, kiss the hand of his wife, and laugh joyously at the return of their friend. She grins from ear to ear at the sight—her friends in sincere happiness.

"Why are you hiding up here?" Merlin asks.

"Why are you always sneaking up behind me?" she teases.

Merlin laughs and touches her shoulder. His smile fades and he converts to seriousness.

"I almost lost you there."  
>Lara nods with the smile still on her face. "That's true, you did," she agrees.<p>

"You shouldn't condemn yourself to a homicidal princess ever again," Merlin says.

Lara laughs. "Oh, I'll think about it," she says. "All in the life of a reformed assassin."

Merlin looks at her with a smile playing on the corners of her lips. "Even an assassin who loves a sorcerer?"

Lara looks up at him, a smile still playing at her lips too but she was unsure of when she ever admitted it.

"When did I say that?" she says. Lara swallows without meaning to.

"When you were training the knights in sparring," Merlin says with a grin. "You said you can 'train men, protect kings and love sorcerers'."

Lara blinks rapidly remembering when she said that. She smiles a little.

"I know a lot of sorcerers," she says coyly.

"Do you?" Merlin says sarcastically.

Lara nods sharply. "Yes, quite a few."

She laughs and Merlin pulls her to him. She smiles as he pushes back a strip of her hair away from her face. As Merlin kisses her Lara has no intention of making her past disrupt her future.

**Author's Note-Thank you so much for reading so far! Soon I'll have the sequel to Revenge in Camelot with more to do with Merlin and Arthur than Lara. I'll be taking more liberties with the story but hopefully you'll like it. Keep reading!-Evelyn Hawkins**


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